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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

After the engraving by the Baron Desnoyers, made by him when Franklin acted as 

OUR Ambassador at the court of Versailles. 



738) 



THE YOUTHS' 



History of the United States 



FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN 
... CONTINENT TO THE PRESENT TIME ... 



... CONTAINING THE ... 

Mound Builders; The Indians; Explorations of the Norsemen, Spaniards, English 

and French ; the Settlement of the New World ; The French and Indian Wars ; 

The Struggle of the Revolution ; The Second War with England ; 

The Mexican War ; The Great Civil W;u- ; The War with Spain ; 

Admiral Dewey's Great Victor}/ at Manila ; the Destruction 

of the Spanish Fleet and Military Operations at Santiago, 

and all Important Events down to the present time. 



Dy 

BENJAMIN R. DAVENPORT, 

Master of ibe ^--Ut of Critic j1 Coiuleiisation. 



Illustrated with Hundreds of Fine Engravings. 



W. H. Ferguson Company, 



PUBLISHERS 



230 and 232 East Fifth Street, CINCINNATI, O. 




<j\ HE publishers, having invested $25,000 alone in the procuring of drawings and engravings contained 
"^ within this book, hereby give due notice to everybody whom it may concern, that, having complied 
with all the requirements of Congress in copyrighting the engravings as such, individually and singly, the 
right whereof, though made for them in France, England, Belgium, and the United States, they claim ns 
proprietors, they will prosecute any infringement thereon, with all the rigor of the law. 




(739) 




M*V0U. 



65- ^n? ^,^.3 



.5. /I s * 



X -^ 



/ 



;rj» ff/ifA-y-/ 



[Xpo abbreviation for Xpi(TTO? = main 
part of Columbus's surname. Kerens, 
the last part = carrier of Christ.] 



FAC-SIMILE OF THE LAST LINE OF A LETTER OF COLUMBUS, DATED GRANADA, FEB. 6, 1502. 

(" A los Reyes Catolicos exponicndo algiinas observaciones sohre el arte tie naveger") 

PORTRAIT OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DISCOVERED IN COMO, ITALY. 

Besides tV.e vaJj-> it has^„aij raithcntic piciuneof tKf '.llustrious navigator, it possesses the further importance of 
being the work of the pa'nter Del Pioiiibo. It was qofsiflerrd as an heirloom of the family, e-xtinct to-day. of the Olovios, 
and was in the posi,eiisiftH jf Paul Gloyio, vho refers' tc it in his works, in one of which it is engr.ived. After the ex- 
tinction of the male line ol the Clbvio family, tne picture passed two generations ago to the family of De Orchi, and is 
now in the possession of Dr. De Orchi of Como. 




THE VISION OF COLUMBUS WHILE BEGGING HIS WAY FROM COURT TO COURT. 

PAINTING BY 0. MANUEL PICOLO. 




{"7) 




COLUMBUS ON THE NIGHT OF OCT. 11th, 1492, 



f8"l 





(149) 



V; : f } ; 



-m 



mT;^^ 



Int ohiro ui- COLUMBUS; THE SANTA : 






, AND PINTA. RESTORED FROM 1HL MOtLi-b IN THL MAiilNL , 



MJliUSi 




COLUMBUS (N CHAINS ABOARD THE CiOHDA. PAINTING BY MARECHAL, PARIS SALON, 1667. 




THE SHIPS OF COLUMBUS THREATENED WITH ENTIRE DESTRUCTION BY WATER SPOUTS. 



^354) 




(175) 



Complete History of the United States. 





VIKING BOAT, OH DFAGON. 
rOUND IN THE MOOR IN JUTLAND. 



F the aboriginal inhabitants of North America — the races 
who built the mounds of the Ohio and Mississippi val- 
leys, and the ancient pueblos and cave dwellings of Ari- 
zona and New Mexico — we have no knowledge save that 
derived from their scattered and moldering monuments. 
Almost equally shadowy is the Norse legend that tells 
how Ivcif, son of Erik, a Viking rover from Iceland, about 
looo A. D., discovered, to the west 
of Greenland, a forest clad shore 
to which he gave the name of Vin- 
land. 

The authentic annals of Amer- 
ica begin with the famous vo3'age 
of Christopher Columbus, "the most memo- 
rable maritime enterprise in the history of 
the world." "^ On October 12, 1492, Columbus, who had been dis- 
patched by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to discover a westward 
route from Europe to Asia, reached one of the Bahamas — probably 
Watling Island. Thence he sailed on to Cuba and Hayti, which he 
believed to be outlying islands of southern Asia, and whose native 
inhabitants he called Indians. Wherever he landed he raised the 
flag of Spain. 

The great discovery of Columbus was followed up by other 
navigators. In 1497 John and Sebastian Cabot, under the patron- 
age of Henry VII. of England, found the continent of North Amer- 
ica, " probably in the latitude of about fifty-six degrees, along the 
dismal cliffs of Labrador." f They took possession of the newly 
discovered land in the name of the English king. 

Spain took the leading part in the exploration of the New 
World. Under her flag the northern coast of South America was 

* Bancroft's History of the United States. f Ibid. 



(741) 



742 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



discovered by Amerigo Vespucci, from whom the continent took 
its name. In 15 13 Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean, and Ponce 
de Leon found a land which he called Florida, because he sighted 
it "on Easter Sunday, which the Spaniards call Pascua Florida." * 
Ferdinand de Soto, also in the Spanish service, discovered the Mis- 




BURIAL OF DE SOTO IN THE VELLOW FLOODS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



sissippi River in 1542, in the waters of which he found his last 
resting place. 

France, too, was active in sending out expeditions. In 1524 
Verrazani coasted from the Carolinas to New England, and ten 
years later Jacques Cartier entered the St. Lawrence. In 1603 
Champlain followed Cartier, and penetrated what is now north- 
ern New York. 

In 1609 Hcur}' Hudson, sailing under the flag of Holland, 
discovered the Hudson River. 

On these discoveries Spain, England, France, and Holland 
based conflicting claims to the territory of the New World, which 

* Bancroft's History of the United States. 




CLIFF HOUSES-RIO HAHCOS CASOH. 




CLIFF-TOWX. RIO HAHCOS. 




PAIHTED PUEBLO POTTERY. 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



747 




THE OLD GATE AT ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. 



were only finally 
settled after nearly 
two hundred years, 
and mncli fighting. 

"The United 
States were sever- 
ally colonized by 
men in origin, re- 
ligious faith, and 
purposes as various 
as their climes." * 
The earliest per- 
manent settlement 
in North America 
was that of St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565 by a Spanish 
expedition under Pedro Melendez. 

The first English colony was Virginia, whose earliest settlement 
was on Roanoke Island, to which Sir Walter Raleigh took a body 
of emigrants in 1584. Raleigh's enterprise proved a failure, but in 
1607 an expedition sent out by the London Company built James- 
town, on the James River. This plantation prospered under the 
government of Captain John Smith, Lord De La 
Ware, and their successors. At Jamestown, in 
1 619, the first African slaves brought to Amei 
ica were purchased from a Dutch vessel. 

New York, which "united the richest 
lands with the highest adaptation to for- 
eign and domestic commerce," f was 
founded by the Dutch, wdio shortly 
after Hudson's voyage planted the 
settlement of New Amsterdam on 
Manhattan Island, and Fort Or- 
ange, now Albany. In 1664 these 
were surrendered to the British, • 
and the name of New Amsterdam 
was changed to New York. 

Massachusetts was colonized by 
a company of Puritans, whose 

* Bancroft's Hist. United States. f Ibid. 




SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 



74^ 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



emigration was "the result of implacable differences between Prot- 
estant dissenters in England and the established Anglican church."* 
Driven from England by religious persecution, they crossed the At- 
lantic in the little ship Mayflower, and landed at Ptymouth. They 

were followed by an- 
other bod}^, which 
founded Salem and 
Charlestown. These 
settlements formed 
the Massachusetts 
Bay colony, origi- 
nally distinct from 
the Plymouth colo- 
ny. The former also 
made a settlement at 
Boston in 1630. 

Hartford and 
Windsor, the first 
settlements of Con- 
necticut, were found- 
ed by pioneers from 
Massachusetts in 
1633. A few years 
later the infant colo- 
ny passed through a 
severe struggle wdth 
the Indians, known 
historically as the 
Pequod War. 

In 1636 Roger 
Williams, a preach- 
er of Salem, was ban- 
ished from M a s s a- 
chusetts for his independence of religious belief. He found refuge 
with the Narragansett Indians, and bought from them a tract of 
land on which he founded the plantation of Providence. Two years 
later another company founded Rhode Island, and in 1644 the two 
settlements were united. 




CHARLES II. OF ENGLAND. 
PAINTING BY PETER LELY. ENGRAVED BY G. VEHTUE, 1738. 



* Bancroft's History of the United States. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



749 



In 1623 ^ P^^t was established near what is now Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire. This was united with the Massachusetts colony, 
together with a few outlying settlements in Maine, until New 
Hampshire was, fifty years later, created a separate province. 

Maryland was founded by Leonard Calvert, brother of Lord 
Baltimore, as a Roman Catholic colony. The first settlement was 
planted in 1634 at St. Mary's, near the mouth of the Potomac. A 
dispute at once arose with Virginia, 
which, according to its charter, "ex- 
tended two hundred miles north of 
Old Point Comfort, and therefore in- 
cluded the soil which forms the State 
of Maryland." * William Clayborne, 
who asserted the claim of Virginia, 
seized the government of the new 
colou}^, but was ultimately expelled. 

Delaware was first settled by 
Swedish emigrants, who established 
themselves on the Delaware River, 
below Philadelphia, and named their 
territory New Sweden. Their settle- 
ments were captured b}^ the Dutch- 
men of New Amsterdam, under Peter 
Stuyvesant, shortl}^ before New Am- 
sterdam was itself conquered by the 
British. 

In 1663 Charles II. granted the 
land between Florida and Virginia to 
Lord Clarendon, who named it Caro- 
lina. Settlers from Virginia had al- 
ready planted, at the mouth of the Chowan River, the Albemarle 
colony, which was the nucleus of North Carolina. South Carolina 
was first opened up by the Carteret colony, which founded Charles- 
ton in 1670. Its members were Englishmen and French Hugue- 
nots. 

New Jersey was claimed by the Dutch as a part of the territor}^ 
of New Amsterdam. They had built a log fort at Camden, on the 
Delaware, in 1623, ^^^ the settlement of the country began when 

* Bancroft's History of the United States. 




WILLIAM PENN. 
AFTER THE PAINTING BY GODFREY KNELLER (16 



-50 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATEvS. 



Charles II. granted the land between the Hudson and Delaware 
rivers to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, in 1664. 

The colonization of Pennsylvania also dates from a grant of 
Charles II., given to William Penn in 1681, in pa3^ment of a debt 

due to his father. Admiral Penn. 
Penn laid out Philadelphia, buy- 
ing the land from the Indians, 
and bringing to it two thousand 
Quakers from England. Dela- 
ware was united to his territory, 
but was finally separated from it 

|'->^''^\ The last of the thir- 

^?^§^Sx:" teen colonies was Geor- 
gia. In 1732 George 11. 
empowered James Ogle- 
thorpe to found, on the 
tract between the Savan- 
nah and Altamaha rivers, 
a colony for those who 
had been imprisoned for 
debt. Other immigrants 
gathered there, coming 
from Scotland and Ger- 
many ; and in 1736 John 
and Charles Wesley, the 
founders of Methodism, 
went there to preach. The 
colony was not established 
nthout hostilities with the 
, Spaniards at St. Augustine. 

But the northern colonies 
'•^ became involved in more serious 
w^ars. The settlers of New Eng- 
land were constantly harassed by 
the Indians. In King Philip's War, fought in 1675, the power of 
the Wampanoags and Narragansetts was broken. In King Will- 
iam's War, which lasted from 1689 to 1697, the aborigines were 
assisted by the French. 




A WAMPANOAG INDIAN IN FULL WAR PAINT. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



751 



French colonists had founded Quebec in 1608, and their fur 
traders and missionaries had pushed up the St. Lawrence to the 
Great Lakes and the Mississippi valley. Two Jesuits, Pere Mar- 
quette and Pere Joliet, discovered the upper course of the Missis- 
sippi. In 1682 Lasalle sailed down the Ohio and the Mississippi 
to the Gulf of Mexico. The vast region through which he passed 
he claimed for France, and named it Louisiana, in honor of King 
Louis XIV. New Orleans and Mobile were founded by French 
settlers a few years later. 

The uncertainty of intercolonial 
boundaries, and the frequent wars be- 
tween the parent countries, led to the 
long conflict that forms most of the En- 
glish colonies' annals for nearly a hun- 
dred years. " The history of the colo- 
nies, except for the great and romantic 
struggle with New France, would have 
been almost destitute of striking inci- 
dents." * Queen Anne's War (1702 to 
1703) and King George's War (1744 to 
1748), in both of which the French were 
assisted by the Indians, produced no im- 
portant results. 

The decisive struggle began in 1754, 
arising from a dispute between the Ohio 
Company and the French, into whose 
territory the Company had entered to 
trade in furs. The military career of 
George Washington began at this time, 
he being dispatched by Governor Din- 
widdle of Virginia with a letter to the French commander on the 
Ohio. The latter's reply was defiant, and two expeditions were 
sent against him — the first a regiment of Virginians, the second 
a British force under Braddock. Both were driven back from Fort 
Duquesne (on the present site of Pittsburgh), but in 1759 the war 
was decided by the capture of Quebec by Wolfe, at the head of a 
British expedition. Peace was signed in 1763, France abandoning 
all her territory in America, except the two islets of St. Pierre and 




LOUIS XIV, OF FRANCE. 



* Fiske's American Revolution, chapter I. 



752 




HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



yfir.ffi 



BHAODOCK MORTALLY WOUNDED AT FORT DUQUESNE. (SEE PHECEDI^G PAGE.) 



]\Iiquelon, off Xewfoundland, which she retains to-da}'. Her set- 
tlements east of the Mississippi were ceded to England, and the 
land west of the Mississippi to Spain, in return for the surrender 
of Florida to England. 

The next great event in American histor}^ was the Revolution 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



753 



ol the thirteen colonies against England. Discontent against the 
mother country had been growing gradually, arising mainly from 
the unjust fiscal policy enforced by the British Parliament. The 
colonies were prohibited from exporting goods to any country but 
England. Duties were exacted upon the goods they imported, and 
their efforts to establish their own manufactures were crushed. 

In 1765 the passage of the Stamp Act brought matters near to 
a crisis. This law required all documents needed in the colonies 
to be written upon stamped paper, which was to be bought from 
of&cers of the British revenue service. The measure aroused great 
public indignation in America. Six colonies united in a memorial 
of protest, wherein they " took their stand on the principle that as 
free-born Englishmen they could not rightfully be taxed by the 
House of Commons unless they were represented in that body." * 

In 1766 the Stamp Act was repealed, but a few months later 
Parliament imposed a duty on all glass, paper, paints, and tea 
brought into America. Great opposition being manifested against 
these taxes, a body of British troops, under General Gage, was 
quartered in Boston. As the excitement in the colonies continued, 
the duties were ultimately removed wdth the exception of that on 
tea, which was retained as an assertion of the principle that Parlia- 
ment's power over America was supreme. 

For the same reason the tea tax was violentl}^ denounced in 
the colonies. "When our liberty is gone," said Samuel Adams, a 
leading citizen of Boston, " history and experience will teach us 
that an increase of inhabitants will be but an increase of slaves." f 
This feeling led to the Boston Tea Party — "an event so great that 
even American historians have generally failed to do it justice." X 
On Dec. 16, 1773, a party of men, disguised as Indians, boarded 
some ships that lay in Boston harbor, and threw their cargoes of 
tea overboard. 

Parliament retaliated by closing the port of Boston. The 
custom house was removed to Salem, and General Gage was ap- 
pointed military governor of Massachusetts. The other colonies 
loyally supported the Bostonians, and Virginia proclaimed a fast 
upon the day when their port was closed. 

On the 5th of September, 1774, fifty-three delegates, sent by all 

* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter i. f Bancroft's History of the United States. 
J Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 2. 

42 



754 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 












^$^ 

^^^'■M '•~«^ 



the colonies except Georgia, met in the first Continental Congress, 

held in Philadelphia, to discuss schemes 
for mutual assistance. Throughout 
the colonies companies of "minute 
men " were formed, to be ready for 
service in sudden emergency. 

The first shots of the Revolution 
were fired at Lexington, IMassachu- 
setts, where General Gage, on his way 
some military stores col- 
lected by the 



patriots at 
Concord, met 
armed resist- 
ance from the 
minute men, 
on the 19th of 
April, 1775. 
The colonial 
forces gath 




|lif| ered at Cam- 
^k I bridge, oppo- 



s i te Boston, 
and occupied 
Bunker Hill, 
whence they 
were driven 
by the Brit- 
ish in the first 
serious fight 
of the war, 
fought on the 
17th of June, 
1775 — a bat- 
tle "charac- 
terized, on both the British and the American sides, by heroism 
rather than by military skill or prudence." * Meanwhile, Ethan 
Allen had captured the British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown 

* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 2. 



COLONEL GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

t'ing been appointed commander-in-chief of the 
w army by the Continental Congress in session 
Philadelphia, takes command of the patriot sol- 
rs under the elm tree at Cambridge, July 3, 1775. 
[Drawing by H. A. Ogden) 




(755) 



75^ 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Point, on Lake Champlain ; and the Second Continental Congress 
had met and appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of 
the colonial troops. 

In March, 1776, the British evacuated Boston, and in June, 

their at- 
tack, under 
Gen e r a 1 
Clinton, on 
Charleston, 
S. Carolina, 
p r o \' e d a 
failure. On 
the 4th of 
July, the 
Contincnt'l 
Con gress, 
still in ses- 
sion atPhil- 
a d e 1 p h i a , 
finally sev- 
ered its al- 
legiance to 
England by 
adopting 
the Decla- 
ration of 
Independ- 
ence, drawn 
up by Thos. 
Jefferson, a 
delegate 
from Vir- 
ginia. 

King George's government now realized that the rebellion of 
the Colonies was a serious affair. An army of twenty-five thou- 
sand men, under Lord Howe, landed on Staten Island, defeated 
General Putnam in the Battle of Long Island, and drove Washing- 
in^ton out of New York. With only three thousand men, the 
American commodore retreated through New Jersey, pursued by 
*:he British under Cornwallis. 




MI HETHtAT Of TH£ oOtlT.MtM M FORCES f HUM LONG ISLAND AFTER THEIR DEFEAT ON THE 27TM OF AUGUST. 

(DRAWING BV H. A. OGOEN.) 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



757 



During the winter of 1776-77 Washington twice crossed the 
Delaware, and made successful attacks upon the British at Trenton 
and at Princeton. But he was in need of men, money, and muni- 
tions of war, and when, in September, the British, landing in Ches- 




WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. (PAINTING BY LEUT2E.) 



apeake Bay, marched upon Philadelphia, he was unable to prevent 
the capture of the colonial capital. The winter of 1777-78, during 
which Washington was in winter quarters at Valley Forge, on the 
Schuylkill, was the darkest period of the Revolution. "Well might 
Thomas Paine declare, 'These are the times that try men's 
souls!'"* 

Meanwhile, however, the patriots had gained an important 
success in the north. General Burgoyne, invading New York by 
way of Loke Champlain, with a force of British troops, Hessians, 
and Indians, captured Ticonderoga, but was defeated by General 
Starke and General Gates, and on October 17 capitulated to the 

* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 5. 



/.« 



hLi^lUKY ur 1 nrv \j i\ 1. 1. jz, lj o i jt. a xz^o. 



latter his surrender being called a convention, " a soothing phrase 
well remembered by British historians."* 

Early in 177S the British evacuated Philadelphia and retreated 
to New York, followed by Washington. The indecisive battle of 
Monmouth was .ought during their retreat across New Jersey. 




WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE. 
"These are the times that try men's souls," declared the patriot Thomas Paine. (Drawing- by H. A. Ogden.) 

In February, 1778, Benjamin Franklin, sent to Europe to rep- 
resent the colonies, signed a treaty of alliance with France. In ac- 
cordance with this treat}', which was a very important addition to 
the strength of the patriots, a French fleet arrived in July, and 
sailed to attacK the British force at Newport. It was driven back 
by a storm. In December a British expedition captured Savannah, 
Georgia. 

The year 1779 witnessed much desultory fighting at various 

* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 7. 



aiSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



759 



points, but was chiefly distinguished by the exploits of Paul Jones, 
who commanding the privateer Bon Homme Richard, harried the 
coast of England, and captured the British frigate Serapis, after 
''one of the most obstinate and murderous 
struggles recorded in naval history." * 

In 1780 Benedict Arnold, in command 
of the important American post at West '^ 
Point, entered into a traitorous agreement to ^ 
surrender it to the British. His design £ 
was detected through the arrest 
of Andre, a British spy; but Ar- 
nold escaped and joined the en- 
emy. Charleston was also cap- 
tured by the British under Clin- 
ton. A series of battles in the 
Carolinas and Virginia ensued, 
between the invaders, commanded 
by Cornwallis, and the Americans 
under Generals Gates, Morgan, 
and Greene. In October, Corn- 
wallis, intrenched at Yorktown, 
was surrounded by an army com- 
posed of Americans under Wash- 
ington and a French force under Rochambeau, ' together with a 
French fleet of which De Grasse was admiral. On the 19th of 
October Cornwallis surrendered with eight thousand men. 

After this disaster the British government made no further 
attempt to reconquer the colonies. A treaty of peace was negoti- 
ated, and finally signed on the 3rd of September, 1783, by which 
Bngland recognized their independence, their boundaries being 
the Great Lakes on the north, the Mississippi on the west, and on 
the south Florida. Florida was re-ceded to Spain — " an event 
which was accounted by our forefathers a great gain to the new 
republic." f 

The colonies had now established their independence, but their 
political, social, and financial affairs were in great disorder. The 
Continental Congress had incurred a vast debt which it had no 




MARQUIS MARIE JOSEPH PAUL DE LA FAYETTE, WHO CAME OVER IN THE FRENCH FLEET, 
TO OFFER HIS SWORD IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY. 



* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 2, 
V^ol. I, Chap. I. 



f Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress.. 



76o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



means of paying. Its paper currency was terribly depreciated. 
" To say that a thing was ' not worth a continental ' became the 
strongest possible expression of contempt." * At one time during 




SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS TO GENERAL WASHINGTON 

As Cornwallis disdained to personally surrender his sword 
to the American commander-in-chief, he ordered his adju- 
tant to hand the same to Washington, who, quick to see 
the intended insult, pointed to his adjutant, to whom the 
sword was turned over. (See page 747.) 



the war " it took ten paper dollars to make a cent." f There were 
serious dissensions between the colonies, and great popular distress 
and discontent, which in Massachusetts broke out into Shay's Re- 
bellion. Under such discouraging circumstances took place "the 
most cheering act in the political history of mankind, when thir- 
teen republics, of which at least three reached from the sea to the 
Mississippi, formed themselves into one federal commonwealth." J 

* Fiske's American Revolution, Chapter 19. f Bancroft's History of the United States. 
X Bancroft's History of the United States. " 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



761 



The last British troops sailed from New York on the 25th of 
November, and ''the same day that witnessed the departure of Sir 
Guy Carleton from New York also witnessed the entry into that 
city of the army of the States."* Thereupon Washington took a 




WASHINGTON BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS OFFICERS AFTER RESIGNING HIS COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 

formal leave of his troops and retired to his home at Mount Ver- 
non, Virginia. He and other leading patriots continued to urge 
the reconstitution of the government, and the union of the colonies 
in a strong and stable confederation. In September, 1786, a con- 
vention of delegates was summoned at Annapolis, Maryland, to 
frame a plan for a more perfect union ; but as only five states sent 
representatives the convention was adjourned until the following 
May. 

* McMaster's History of the People of the United States, Chapter 2. 



762 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In that month (May, 1787) delegates from all of the thirteen 
colonies except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia. The conven- 
tion sat for fonr months, choosing Washington as its president, 
and finally drafted and agreed upon a federal constitution. This 
instrument, which became the Constitution of the United States, 
provided for a legislative body, entitled Congress, and consisting 
of two chambers, a Senate and a House of Representatives; an 
executive department, with a President at its head ; and the federal 
judiciary of the Supreme Court. 

While the constitutional convention was in session at Phila- 
delphia, the Continental Congress held its last sitting in New 
York — a sitting signalized by the organization of a government for 
the Northwestern Territory — the vast tract of land, hitherto 
claimed by Virginia, between the Ohio river, the upper Alissis- 
sippi, and the Great Lakes, which now forms the States of Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. General Arthur St. 
Clair was appointed the first governor of the Territory, with his 
headquarters at the settlement of Marietta, on the Ohio. 

The constitution framed at Philadelphia r.iet with a by no 
means read}' acceptance. In some of the colonies it "called forth 
the fiercest resistance that selfish interests could organize."* New 
York, unwilling to surrender to a central government the great 
revenues that might be raised at her port, " of the thirteen States 
was the most stubborn in opposition." f The constitution was to 
become operative when accepted by nine States. Delaware, Penn- 
sylvania, and New Jersey ratified it in December, 1787; Georgia 
and Connecticut in January, 1788; Massachusetts in February, 
Maryland in April, South Carolina in May, and New Hampshire; 
the ninth State, on the 21st of June. Virginia and New York fol- 
lowed, but North Carolina held aloof until November, 1789, and 
Rhode Island to the 29tli of May, 1790. 

The United States was now fully established as a Nation. " It 
is estimated that at the opening of the Revolutionary War there 
were in the country, both white and black, 2,750,000 souls." J The 
total population had now increased to about three and a quarter 
millions. The area of the Union was eight hundred thousand 
square miles. 

* Bancroft's History of the United States. f Ibid. 

X McMaster's History of the People of the United States, Chapter I. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



7(^3 






New York had. been designated as the seat of the federal gov- 
ernment. The first election for President was held on ti:e 6th of 
April, 1789, when the electors chosen by the several States named 
George Washington as President, and John Adams of ]\Iassachu- 
setts as Vice President. General Washington, who was novv in his 
fifty-eighth vear, journeyed from I'Jount \^ernon to 
New York for his inauo^urarion, bein^r received .^ 
with a great, popular ovation along his ..^' 
route. On the 30th of April he took the /-. 
oath of office on the portico of the old <.^ r 
City Hall, which stood at the corner of 
Wall and Broad streets. 

The leading members of Washing- 
ton's first cabinet were Thomas Jeffer- J 
son, Secretary of State; Alexander f 
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury ; K~ 
Edmund Randolph, x\ttorney-General, | 
and General Henry Knox, Secretary of * 
War. Able men were needed for the *~ 
guidance of the government. The treas- 
ury was empty. Spain was excluding 
American ships from the mouth of the 
Mississippi. England had retained some 
forts in the West that should have been sur- 
rendered, and the Indians were waging war on 
the pioneers of the Northwestern Territor}^ and 
had defeated Governor St. Clair. The outbreak 
of the French Revolution had caused friction with the new repub- 
lican government of France, whose ambassador in America, AI. 
Genet, had fitted out vessels of war in American ports, to be used 
against England, and had defied Washington's command to respect 
the neutrality of the United States. 

All these international difficulties were removed by diplomacy. 
The offending French minister was withdrawn. In 1795 a treaty 
was concluded with Spain, and in the same year John Jay negoti- 
ated another with England. The Indian troubles in the West 
were ended by an expedition commanded by General Anthony 
Wa^me, who conquered the savages in a battle on the Maumee 
river. 





ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



704 



rtioi'-'K.y KJt' inn uiMiniJ caiAiiio. 



The regulation of the Federal finances was the work of Alex- 
ander Hamilton. He funded the debt of the United States, and 
in 1 791 established a mint and the United States Bank in Phila- 
delphia, which was then the largest city and chief financial centre 
of the country, and had recently been created the capital — for in 
1790 the government was removed to it from New York. To de- 
fray the charges of the national debt, duties were levied upon im- 
ported goods, and an internal revenue tax imposed upon the dis- 
tillation of whisky. These taxes .were not entirely popular. 
Western Pennsylvania rose against the taxation 
of spirits, and the Whisky Rebellion, as.it was 
called, was onl}^ suppressed by calling out a 
large force of militia. 

When Washington's term of four 

years in the Presidency expired, he was 

elected for a second time, John Adams 

being also re-elected Vice-President. 

Washington's second inauguration took 

place at Philadelphia on the 4th of 

March, 1793. On the approach of the 

expiration of his second term he issued 

a Farewell Address and refused to be a 

candidate for a third, thereby setting a 

precedent that has never since been 

broken. 

During Washington's administration 
three new States were added to the original 
thirteen — Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792), 
and Tennessee (1796). 
'°"'* *'*"' The political sentiment of the nation was 

divided into two schools or parties. The Republicans, of whom 
the Democrats are the modern successors, supported the rights of 
the individual States as against those of the general government. 
The Federalists, who somewhat faintly correspond to the Re- 
publicans of to-day, held that the Federal power should be further 
extended. 

The Federalists had a majority of the electors who chose 
Washington's successor, and they named John Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts. Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, who was the author of 





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the Declaration of Independence, and had served as Washington's 
Secretary of State, was the candidate of the Republicans, and as he 
received the second highest number of votes he became Vice-Presi- 
dent, according to the rule then prevailing. Adams and Jefferson 
were inaugurated in Philadelphia on the 4th of March, 1797. 

The chief incident of John Adams' uneventful Presidency 
was a brief war with France. The friction 
with the unstable government of that 
country had continued. War was finally 
precipitated by a demand from the 
Directory, then in power at Paris, 
that the United States should pay 
the sum of two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars, before 
the questions at issue should be 
considered. Congress declared 
war, and organized an army, 
of which Washington was ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief. 
The only actual hostilities 
that took place, however, w^ere 
two fights at sea between 
French and American frigates, 
the latter being victorious on 
each occasion. In 1800, the Di- 
rectory having been overthrown 
by Napoleon Bonaparte, who estab- 
lished himself as First Consul of the 
French republic, the war was ended 
b}' a treaty of peace that left the Corsi- 
can dictator free to pursue his plans 
conquest on the continent of Europe. 

Shortly before the conclusion 
peace George Washington died at Mount Vernon, on the 14th of 
December, 1799. 

Toward the close of his administration President Adams in- 
curred much unpopularit}^ through the passage, at his instance, of 
the Alien and Sedition laws, which gave the government power to 
expel disloyal foreigners and punish all disaffected persons. These 




of 



NAPOLEON AS CONSUL 



.."^ 



acts were deuoiiuced as unconstitutional by the Republicans, who 
were victorious in the Presidential election of 1800. Their leading 
candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, recei-ved an equal 
number of votes in the electoral college. The matter being re- 
ferred to the House of Representatives, Jefferson was elected. 

In this year (1800) the seat of the Federal government was re- 
moved from Philadelphia to a new city established on territory 
ceded by Virginia and Maryland, and named Washington. In 1802, 
Ohio, the seventeenth State, was admitted to the Union. 

The great event of Jefferson's administration was the purchase 
of Louisiana, which then included all the land west of the Missis- 




BIRDSEYE VIEW OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, SHOWING THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI VALLEV. 



sippi, stretching indefinitely westward. This vast territory, ceded 
by France to Spain in 1763, passed back to the French in 1800. 
In 1803, Jefferson, anxious to secure control of the mouth of the 
Mississippi, instructed Livingston, the American minister at Paris, 
to make a proposal for the purchase of New Orleans. Napoleon, 
needing money for his war against Austria and Prussia, offered to 
sell the whole of Louisiana to the United States. The offer, though 
unexpected, was accepted, the price agreed on being " sixty millions 
of francs, or, as was calculated, $11,250,000," * besides the payment 
of certain claims which brought the total to nearly $15,000,000, 

* McMaster's History of the People of the United States, Chapter 13. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^69 



There was some short-sighted criticism of this heavy outlay, but 
"the mass of the people pronounced the purchase a bargain. "* 

In 1 801 an effort was made to punish the pirates of the north 
African coast, who had inflicted great damage upon American ship- 
ping in the Mediterranean. Commodore Preble attacked Tangiers 
in 1803, but the frigate Philadelphia, blockading Tripoli, was cap- 
tured by the pirates, and her crew was held in slaver}^ until rescued 
by Decatur six months later. In 1804 Tripoli w^as bombarded and 
the Bey forced to sue for peace. 

In that same year the bitter political ani-^ 
mosity between Vice-President Burr and Alex-^ 
ander Hamilton culminated in a duel. "In 
the early sunlight of a July morning the 
two were rowed across the Hudson river" 
from New York, "and met under the 
rocky heights of Weehawken." f Ham- 
ilton was shot and killed — an event 
that caused great public sorrow, and 
ruined Burr's career. In the ensuing 
election, while Jefferson was re-elected 
President, Burr was succeeded by 
George Clinton of New York. Before 
this election a constitutional amendment 
had been passed, whereby the electors 
voted separately for President and Vice- 
President. Two years later Burr was arrested 
on a charge of treason, and accused of a design 
of founding an empire west of the Alleghanies. 
He was not convicted. 

In 1807 Robert Fulton's first steamer, the Clermont, made its 
famous voyage from New York to Albany, marking the invention 
of steam navigation. 

The Napoleonic wars, which at this time were making Europe 
a great battle-field, seriously affected the United States. England, 
whose navy under Nelson had become mistress of the seas, claimed 
the so-called Right of Search over American vessels. Her men-of- 
war constantly stopped and boarded them, and impressed men from 
their crews, claiming that the men she took were British citizens. 

*McMaster's History of the People of the United States, Chapter 13. f Ibid. 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



//' 



The American frigate Chesapeake was fired upon, in 1807, by the 
British man-of-war Leopard, and four of her seamen forcibly cap- 
tured as deserters. 

Americans also suffered from the blockades proclaimed by 
France and England. By the Orders in Council of 1807 the latter 
prohibited all trade with France and her allies. Napoleon retaliated 
with the Milan Decree, declaring an embargo against England and 
her colonies. American merchant vessels attempting to trade with 
either of the combatants were liable to seizure by the cruisers of 
the other. Congress did not mend matters by passing a law to 

prevent American ships from leaving the ports 
of the United States. The shipping industry, 
then very extensive, was seriously injured. 

Amid this political confusion Jefferson's 
presidency ended. Following the example of 
Washington, he declined a third term, and in 
the election of 1808 James Madison of Vir- 
ginia, was chosen to succeed him, while Clin- 
ton was re-elected Vice President. Madison 
was one of the most distinguished leaders of 
the Republican part}^, and had been Jeffer- 
son's Secretary of State throughout the lat- 
ter's Presidenc}^ 

The relations of the United States to- 
ward France, and especially toward Eng- 
land, continued to be strained. In 18 10 
Napoleon issued a special decree against 
American trade, and though this was shortly 
afterward revoked, both French and English men-of-war repeatedly 
seized American vessels. English ships even entered American 
ports to do so, and in 1811 shots were exchanged between the 
British cruiser Little Belt and the American frigate President. 
Altogether, between 1803 and 181 2, nine hundred American ships 
were seized or searched by the British, and six thousand American 
sailors impressed into the British service 

In 181 1 there was a ereat rising; of the Indians in the North- 
western Territory, under the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, whose 
headquarters were at the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wa- 
bash rivers, in Indiana. General William Henry Harrison was sent 




JAMES MADISON. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



11.^ 



t^ attack him, and met liis messengers, who promised that on the 
next day Tecumseh would come to sign a treaty. That night the 
Indians assaulted General Harrison's camp, but in the fight that 
followed, called the Battle of the Tippecanoe, they were defeated 
and crushed. 

In June, 1812, Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a 
new State. In the same month war was declared against Eng- 
land. 

The first fighting took place on the Northwestern frontier 
General Hull, governor of Michigan Territory, moved into Canada. 
His troops were defeated at Brownstown, and he was driven back 
across the St. Clair River to the fort at Detroit. He was pursued 
by a British force under General Brock, who had been joined by 
Tecumseh and his Shawnees. At Brock's first attack upon Detroit, 
Hull ran up a white flag, surrendering the fort with its garrison 
and its stores. For this cowardly act, which occurred on the i6th 
of August, 181 2, Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced 
to be shot, but was pardoned by President Madison. The British 
had also captured Fort Mackinaw, and were now in possession of 
the whole of Michigan. 

Almost equally disastrous was an attempted invasion of Canada 




43 



GOVERNOR HULL, AFTER HIS DEFEAT AT BROWNSTOWN, WITHDRAWS HIS TROOPS TO FORT DETROIT. 



772 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



at Oueenstown, on the Niagara River. A body of New York militia, 
under General Van Rensselaer, was stationed at Lewiston, on the 
American side. A detachment crossed the river, attacked the British 
force at Queenstown, and drove them back ; but reinforcements 
coming up, and the rest of the New York men refusing to go to 
their comrades' assistance, the invaders were killed or captured al- 
most to a man. 

But while the American flag met with disasters on land, at sea 
it achieved creditable successes. No important naval battles were 
fought, but the British frigate Guerriere was captured and burned 
by the United States frigate Constitution in the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence. Later in the year the Constitution took a second British 
frigate, the Java, off the coast of Brazil. Captain Decatur, of the 
frigate United States, captured a third, the Macedonian, near the 
Azores. The sloop Wasp met and took the British brig Frolic, off 
North Carolina, but was in turn captured by an English man-of- 
war. American privateers were commissioned in great numbers, 
and did great damage to British commerce, seizing three hundnid 
vessels within a year. 

The successes over a nation whose boast it was that for iifify 
years she had never met defeat on the ocean gave great satisfaction 
in the United States. Popular approval of President Madison's 
policy was testified by his re-election in the fall of 1812. 

In 1813 General Harrison, the victor of Tippecanoe, was placed 
in command of the army in the Northwest. His campaign opened 
disastrously. General Winchester, the leader of his advanced guard, 
was surrounded on the Maumee River and captured, with a thou- 
sand men, by the British and Indians under General Proctor. Proc- 
tor then besieged Harrison at Fort Meigs, but was driven off b\^ the 
arrival of twelve hundred Kentuckians. In July Proctor renewed 
his attack, but was again unsuccessful, and was also repulsed from 
Fort Stevenson, at Lower Sandusk3^ 

In September a fleet of nine small vessels, hastily equipped 
by the Americans, encountered the six British ships that had 
hitherto had control of Lake Erie. The latter were defeated and 
captured, and Perry, the American commander, sent to General 
Harrison the message, "We have met the enemy and they are 
ours!" Harrison's arnn' was now carried across the lake to invade 
Canada. Proctor hurried back to the defense of the British settle- 




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DEATH OF CHIEF SHABBONA. 





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HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 773 

ments. The two forces met on the Thames River, where, on the 
5th of October, Proctor was defeated, and his Shawnee ally, Te- 
cumseh, was killed. This success restored Michigan to the United 
States, and relieved the Northwestern Territory from fear of in- 
vasion. 

Meanwhile General Dearborn, in April, had crossed Lake 
Ontario and captured York (now Toronto), the capital of Upper 
Canada. Not attempting to retain the town, he next attacked 
Fort George, the British post on the Niagara River. The com- 
mander of the fort blew up his magazines and retreated, but in the 
ensuing battle, at Burlington Heights, the Americans were taken 
by surprise and forced to withdraw. A detachment of six hun- 
dred of Dearborn's men was surrounded and captured at Fort 
George. 

After this disaster Dearborn was recalled, and was succeeded 
by General Wilkinson, who planned an expedition against Mon- 
treal. In the battle of Chrysler's Farm, fought near the rapids of 
the St. Lawrence, he was successful, but he was unable to reach 
Montreal, going into winter quarters near St. Regis. 

There were also hostilities against the Indians in the South- 
west in 1813. In August the Creeks captured Fort Mims, on the 
Alabama River, and massacred its inhabitants. Other settlements 
were attacked, and, though troops from Tennessee and Georgia 
were called out, the Creek War was not ended until General Jack- 
son inflicted a crushing defeat on the Indians at the Horseshoe 
Bend of the Tallapoosa River, in March, 1814. 

The chief naval actions of 1813 were the sinking of the British 
brig Peacock by the American sloop Hornet, and the capture of 
another British brig, the Boxer, b\' the Enterprise. On the other 
hand, the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Lawrence, met the 
British frigate Shannon, off Boston, and was taken after a short 
fight, in which Lawrence was killed. His last words were " Don't 
give up the ship ! " 

The battles of 18 14 were the most important of the war. In 
June General Brown crossed the Niagara River with five thousand 
men, took Fort Erie, and on the 14th of July met and defeated a 
British force under General Riall, at Chippewa. On the 25th the 
two armies met again in the hard fought battle of Lundy's Lane. 
The Americans captured a hill on which the British had planted 



774 



HISTORY OF the; UNITED STATES. 



a battery, and held it against repeated assaults ; but tbough suc- 
cessful, their loss was so great that on the following day they 
were forced to retreat. In the battle the commander of the Amer- 
ican advance guard, Winfield Scott, " was seriously wounded in 
the shoulder." * During the summer the British, under General 
Drummond, besieged Fort Erie, which the Americans held until 
November, when its commandant. General Izard, blew it up and 
withdrew from Canada. 

In September a British expedition of twelve thousand men, 
under General Prevost, invaded the United States by way of Lake 
Champlain, and attacked Plattsburg, which was defended by Gen- 
eral Alacomb, with three thousand men, and a squadron of vessels 
under Commodore McDonough. On the nth of September, Pre- 
vost, attempting to cross the Saranac River, was driven back with 
heavy loss. 

A British expedition against Baltimore and Washington was 
more successful. A fleet, under Admiral Cochrane, entered Chesa- 
peake Bay in August, and landed a force of 4,500 men on the 
Patuxent River, fifty miles from Washington. The capital was 
defended only by a body of militia under General Winder, and 
Commodore Barney's few small vessels; and "the British com- 
mander. General Robert Ross, boasted that he would wipe out 
Barne3^'s fleet and dine in Washington the next Sunday." f March- 
ing upon the capital, Ross defeated its defenders at Bladensburg 
on the 24th of August, entered the city, burned the Capitol and 
the White House, and returned to the British fleet. 

Admiral Cochrane then moved toward Baltimore. He bom- 
barded Fort McHenry, 
and there was a skirmish 
on land at North Point, 
in which General Ross 
was killed. The fleet 
then withdrew. 

Another British ex- 
pedition in August 
occupied Pensacola, in 

*Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. 
History (Scott), 
f Ibid (Bladensburg). 




THE WHITE HOUSE AT WASHINGTON 




BATTLE BETWEEN THE ESSEX, UNDER CAPTAIN PORTER, AND TWO ENGLISH !■" I- ■"■■ l-i- 

AT VALPARAISO, MARCH, 1813. 



(.75. 



-776 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Florida (at this time Spanish territory), and moved thence against 
Fort Bowyer, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Major Lawrence, in 
command of the post, repelled the attack with heavy loss. General 
Jackson, who was at the head of military operations in the South, 
pursued the invaders to Pensacola and drove them out. 

New Orleans was the next point of attack. In December the 
British ships entered Lake Borgne and threatened New Orleans. 
They captured a flotilla of American vessels, and landed an army 
of twelve thousand men on the banks of the Mississippi, below 
rCcw Orleans. Among these soldiers were "some of the best of 
Wellington's troops that fought on the Spanish peninsula," * and 
their commander was General Pakenham, who was known as the 
Hero of Vittoria, from the important part he had played in that 
battle, fought in Spain the year before. 

General Jackson had but half as many men, mostly hastily 
levied and untrained militia. He intrenched himself in a strong 
position four miles below the city, where, to attack him, the en- 
emy must move along a narrow and exposed space. Pakenham, 
who regarded Jackson's forces as nothing better than "a handful 
of backwoodsmen," ordered his men to assault. They did this 
in the face of a terrible fire, which mowed down their ranks and 
finally routed them. 

In this battle of New Orleans "the British lost 2,600 men, 
killed, wounded, and made prisoners; while the Americans, shel- 
tered by their breastworks, lost only eight killed and thirteen 
wounded. The history of human warfare presents no parallel to 
this disparitv in loss."f Pakenham himself was among the slain. 
General Lambert, who succeeded him, at once retreated to his 
ships. 

The only notable sea fight of 1814 was that in which the 
American frigate Essex was captured by two British vessels off 
Valparaiso. 

On the 14th of December, 1814, a treaty of peace was signed 
at Ghent, in Belgium, by British and American commissioners. 
In those days news traveled slowly, and it was three weeks after 
the signature of the treaty that the battle of New Orleans was 
fought. Intelligence of the conclusion of peace reached America 

* Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (New Orleans). f Ibid. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 777 

on the nth of February, 1S15, and was thereupon proclaimed by 
the President. At sea, fighting went on much later. In February 
the frigate Constitution captured two British sloops off Lisbon. 
In March the Hornet sank the British brig Penguin near the Cape 
of Good Hope. In June, four months after the proclamation of 
peace, the Peacock took the British vessel Nautilus in the Straits 
of Sunda. 

The end of the war was hailed with great J03' in America. 
The Federalist party had all along opposed a war policy, and it 
had been especially unpopular in New England. Just before the 
peace, a convention of New England Federalists met to protest 
against the continuance of hostilities and to set forth their griev- 
ances. The delegates were charged by their political opponents 
with intending to desert the Union and make a separate peace with 
England. The commerce of the country had been greatly injured. 
The paper currency was much depreciated, and little gold was in 
circulation. But the New England States had suffered most heav- 
ily. Their coasts had been blockaded and devastated, their fisher- 
ies suppressed, and their coasting vessels swept from off the sea. 
Sd completely was their ocean trade destroj-ed that the lighthouses 
along their shores had been ordered to extinguish their signals, be- 
cause they were of service to none but British ships. 

The land operations of the American forces during the " war "^ 

of 181 2," as the second war against Great Britain is generally 
termed, were directed mainly toward repelling British invasions, 
and to attacking Canada. The commanders who won the greatest 
distinction were Generals Jackson and Harrison, both of whom be- 
came Presidents ; Brown and Winfield Scott, afterwards commander- 
in-chief of the army ; and Alacomb, the victor of Plattsburg. The 
sea-fights of the war, though fewer and less important, were more 
signally creditable to the flag than were the land battles. 

The American navy performed aiiother notable achievement in 
June, 1815, when Decatur, with nine ships, occupied the harbor of 
Algiers, and compelled the piratical Dey to release all the Ameri- 
cans among the slaves captured by his cruisers. 

The last important event of Madison's administration was the 
admission to the Union of Indiana, the nineteenth State, in Decem- 
ber, 1816. In the following March he retired from office, having 
gained the reputation of one who "had done much in the establish- 



77^ 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ment of the nation on a firm foundation," * and went into private 
life. 

" Before the close of Madison's administration, the Federal 
party had so much declined in strength that a nomination for of&ce 
b}' the Republican party was equivalent to an election." f In the 
preceding year the Presidential nomination had fallen upon James 
Monroe, of Virginia, who was elected, with Daniel D. Tompkins, of 
New York, as Vice-President. Monroe had performed high public 
service as an ofi&cer in the Revolutionary War, a Congressman, and 
as Secretary of War under ]\Iadison. His eight years' administra- 
tion was marked by peaceful relations with foreign powers. Its 
most important domestic event was the beginning 
of the agitation of the Slavery question. 

In December, 1817, the western half of the 
Mississippi Territory was created into a State, 
the eastern being formed into Alabama Territory. 
In this latter there was immediately afterward an 
Indian rising, the Creeks renewing their attacks 
on white settlers, and being assisted b}^ the Semi- 
noles of Florida. General Gaines, in command 
of the troops in Alabama, could not suppress the 
outbreak, and General Jackson called out the 
Tennessee militia. He attacked and took the 
Indian villages, and then, finding that the rising 
had been instigated from bej^ond the frontier of 
Spanish territory, he " did not hesitate to march 
across the line, capture Pensacola, and seize the 
Barrancas," % a neighboring fort. 
This invasion of Florida created great indignation in Spain. 
Her government had for some time been more or less unfriendly to 
America, for she " had always been dissatisfied with Bonaparte's 
transfer of Louisiana to the United States." J In the following 
3^ear, however, the matter was adjusted, and all occasion for future 
difi&culties at this point removed, by a treaty " which, with many 
gains, entailed some signal losses on the United States." || Spain 
agreed to sell Florida for five million dollars — " an acquisition 
which proved of great value to us from ever}^ point of view."^ 




JAMES MONROE 



* Lossing's Cyclopsedia of U. S. History (Madison). f Ibid. (Monroe). 

t Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chap. i. ? Ibid. || Ibid. 



1[ Ibid. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 779 

On the other hand, although " the whole of Texas was fairly in- 
cluded in the Louisiana purchase," * the United States now agreed 
to consider the Sabine River as its southwestern boundary, thus 
ceding Texas to Mexico. 

. In December, 1818, Illinois, the twenty-first State, was admitted 
to the Union. At the same session of Congress a bill was intro- 
duced to constitute the Territory of Missouri into a State. The 
House of Representatives inserted a clause providing that there 
should be no slavery in the State. The Senate struck it out, and 
there ensued a long struggle on " the Missouri question, as it was 
popularly termed." f In 1820 this was settled by the adoption of 
a compromise, which provided that Missouri should be allowed to 
come in as a slave State, but that no slavery should be permitted 
in any State thereafter to be formed north of the latitude of thirty- 
six and a half degrees, the southern boundary of Missouri. 

The question had been discussed with great bitterness, the 
representatives of the North antagonizing slavery, in opposition to 
those of the South, where slave labor was believed to be necessary 
for the great agricultural industries of cotton, tobacco, and rice. 
But the compromise having been adopted, both parties " accepted 
the result, and for the next twenty years no agitation of the slav- 
ery question appeared in any political convention, or affected any 
considerable body of the people." J 

Meanwhile Alabama (1819) and Maine (1820) had been ad- 
mitted as States. The tariff question had also risen into prom- 
inence. In 1816 a bill levying moderate duties on imports had 
been passed by the influence of the South, and against the wishes 
of the Northern representatives. The opinions prevalent in the 
two sections had since become reversed. The Northern States 
favored an increase of duties, but the Southerners prevented it. 

In 1822 there were revolts throughout Mexico and South 
America against the dominion of Spain, to whom almost all South 
and Central America, with the exception of Brazil, had hitherto 
been subject. The United States Government recognized the in- 
dependence of the newly-formed states, and in 1823 President 
Monroe formulated what "has since been recognized as a part 
of the settled policy of the Republic,"^ when he declared in his 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress. Vol. I, Chap. i. f Ibid. | Ibid. 
I Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Monroe Doctrine). 



/OO 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



message to Congress that " the American continents are not to be 
considered as subjects for future colonization by any European 
powers." This sentence has become historic as " the Monroe 
doctrine." 

President Monroe and Vice President Tompkins were re- 
elected in 1S20. As their second term drew to a close four candi- 
dates were nominated for the Presidency — General Andrew Jack- 
son of Tennessee, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and William H. 
Crawford of Georgia, by the Republicans ; John Quincy Adams, 
of Massachusetts, by the opposition. None of 
im. obtained a majority of the electoral vote. 
The House of Representatives thereupon 
elected John Quincy Adams, who was the 
son of President John Adams, and " a 
ripe scholar, an able diplomatist, a life- 
long opponent of human slaver}^, and 
m eloquent orator." * He had served as 
a foreign minister, as a senator, and as 
Secretary of State under Monroe. His 
Vice-President was John C. Calhoun, 
of South Carolina. 

The administration of John Q. 
Adams was uneventful. The chief ques- 
tion in domestic politics was that of the 
tariff, which was debated with great vehe- 
mence. The Northern and Middle States 
sought to increase the duties on imports, and 
.lie representatives of the South opposed them 
strongly. The great champion of a higher 
tariff was Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, 
who " was the leader of the friends of the administration." f Ulti- 
mately, in 1828, a bill was passed which imposed high protective 
duties. 

In February, 1826, the government purchased from the 
Creeks their lands in Georgia, and removed the Indians to a tract 
west of the Mississippi. This was the beginning of the formation 
of the Indian Territor}-. 

In the same year, on the 4th of July, exactly fifty years from 

* Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (John Q. Adams). f Ibid. (Webster). 




JOHN QUINCY ADAWS. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



781 



the da}^ when they had signed the Declaration of Independence, 
two Bx-Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died. 

In 1828 President John Q. Adams was re-nominated by the 
Whigs, but was defeated by General Andrew Jackson, the candi- 
date of the Democrats, as the old Republican party was now termed. 
John C. Calhoun was re-elected Vice-President. 

General Jackson, the victor of New Orleans, had had a long 
and distinguished military career. He " possessed great firmness 
and decision of character; was honest and true; not always cor- 
rect in judgment ; often rash in expressions and 
actions; a patriot of purest stamp."* He 
took up the administration of the govern- 
ment with fearless energy. In his first 
annual message he attacked the Bank of 
the United States, a powerful, but as 
he believed, an unconstitutional institu- 
tion. The bank's charter was about 
to expire, and President Jackson urged 
that it should not be renewed. Con- 
gress passed a bill to re-charter the 
bank, but the President defeated it by 
a veto. 

In 1832 a further increase of the 
tariff caused great indignation in the 
South. The State of South Carolina 
went so far as to declare that the tariff 
laws were unconstitutional, and therefore 
null and void ; that the collection of the duties 
in the port of Charleston would not be per- 
mitted ; and threatened that South Carolina 
would leave the Union. " The doctrine of State sovereignty and 
supremacy, and that the Union was a compact of States that might 
be dissolved by the secession of any one of them, independent of 
all action on the part of the others, was honestly held by Mr. Cal- 
houn," f who was the leader of the movement. 

President Jackson issued a proclamation against the " nullifi- 
ers," and promptly sent troops to Charleston, under General Scott. 
The question was settled without bloodshed. In 1833 Henry Clay 

f * Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Jackson). f Ibid. (Calhoun). 




ANDREW JACKS-r. 



782 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



introduced a bill for the gradual lowering of the tariff, and the dis- 
content in South Carolina was allayed. 

In 1832 the Sac and Fox tribes of Indians, in what is now the 
State of Wisconsin, broke out into rebellion, led by the chief Black 
Hawk. There was some fighting before the hostiles were sup- 
pressed and deported to the newly formed Indian Territory. 








^.jf 



term 
at t a 



In the fall of that 
year President Jack- 
son was re-elected, 
with Martin Van 
Buren, of New York, 
as his Vice-Presi- 
dent. His second 
began with another 
ck upon the Uniter," 



The attack upon fort K.NG by the INDIAN FORCES OF OSCEOLA. 




RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 




ARRIVAL OF THE RANGERS. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



783 



States Bank, from which he ordered all public moneys to be re- 
moved. 

In 1834 there arose a dispute with the French government, 
which had agreed to pay five million dollars as an indemnity for 
the damage done to American vessels during the wars of Napo- 
leon, but had withheld payment. Jackson's urgent demand pre- 
vented further delay. 

In 1835 the Seminole Indians of Florida began a war which 
lasted for seven years, and cost the government forty million dol- 
lars. Major Dade, marching with 117 men to reinforce the garri- 
son of Fort Drane, was surrounded by the Indians, and only four 
of his soldiers escaped. On the same day Fort 
King was attacked, and its commander. General 
Thomson, killed, by the crafty Seminole chief, 
Osceola. The Indians were defeated by Gen- 
eral Gaines and by Governor Call of Florida 
in 1836, but they refused to submit, and re- 
treated into the Everglades, where pursuit was 
impossible. 

After fifteen years had passed since the 
admission of a State, Arkansas w^as allowed to 
enter the Union in June, 1836, and Michigan 
in January, 1837. This was in accordance 
with the recognized custom by which, to pre- 
serve the balance of the sections, a Northern 
and a Southern State w^ere created at or near 
the same time. " Kentucky and Vermont, 
Tennessee and Ohio, Mississippi and Indiana, 
Alabama and Illinois, Missouri and Maine, Arkansas and Michigan, 
Florida and Iowa, came into the Union in pairs."* 

In March, 1837, Jackson retired from the Presidency. "Never 
were the affairs of the republic in its domestic and foreign relations 
more prosperous than at the close of his term of office." f 

At the election of the preceding fall Martin Van Buren, the 
Vice-President, had been elected to succeed Jackson. The opposi- 
tion party, which now was called the Whig Party, had divided its 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chap. 3. 
f Lossing's Cyclopcedia of U. S. History Qackson). 




MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



784 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




ILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



^m vote between four candidates, of whom General 
William H. Harrison of Ohio, received the most 
support. 

Van Buren's administration began with a 
financial panic, following a period of excessive 
speculation. Industries were stopped, and bank- 
ruptcy was epidemic. An extra session of Con- 
gress was called, but could do little to remedy 
matters. The sub-treasury system was an ex- 
pedient proposed at this time by the President. 

In the same year (1837) ^ rebellion in Canada 
excited much sympathy in the United States, and 
might have led to a war with England had not 
the President taken prompt measures to prevent 
the sending of any assistance to the rebels. 

Osceola, the leader of the hostile Seminoles, 
was captured by General Jessup in October, 1837. 
This, however, did not end the war ; nor did Colonel Zachary Tay- 
lor's victory over the Indians at Lake Okeechobee, on Christmas 

" ' "^ Day, 1838. The struggle was not finally enderd 

until 1842. 

The general depression of business during 
Van Buren's Presidency, and the discontent thus 
caused, contributed largely to his defeat when 
renominated by the Democrats in 1840. The 
successful candidate was General William H. 
Harrison of Ohio, the nominee of the Whigs, 
celebrated as the victor of Tippecanoe and for his 
services in the war of 181 2. He died just a 
month after his inauguration, and was succeeded 
by the Vice-President, John Tyler, of Virginia. 

Congress again met in special session to deal 
with the disturbed finances of the country. 
Among other measures, it passed a bill to re- 
establish a national bank. President Tyler vetoed 
the bill, a step that aroused great indignation 
among the Whigs, who accused him of breaking his pledges. " Mr. 
Clay led the attack upon him openly and savagely, and pursuing 
him so violently that in September, five months after Tyler's 




JOHN TYLER 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



785 



accession, every member of his cabinet resigned except Mr. Web- 
ster "* who remained in office to complete the negotiation of the 
Ashburton treaty, defining the boundary between Maine and 
Canada. This question at one time threatened to cause a war 
with England, but was finally settled in 1842, the 
frontier being fixed as it now exists. 

In 1843 and 1844 there were local dis 
turbances in Rhode Island and in Illinois 
The constitution of Rhode Island was 
still the old charter of the colony, granted 
nearly two hundred years before. Ac- 
cording to its provisions, the right of 
suffrage was restricted by a property 
qualification. This brought about a 
bitter controversy between the " suf- 
frage party," who demanded a free 
vote, and the "law and order party," 
which defended the existing constitu- 
tion. In 1843 each party elected a gov- 
ernor, and the suffragists, under Thomas 
W. Dorr, attacked the State arsenal. Uni- 
ted States troops were called upon to sup 
press the brief civil war. Dorr was arrested 
and convicted of treason, but was shortly released, 
and the State constitution was amended to remove ««« Houston 

the property qualification. 

The disturbance in Illinois was less serious. The polygamous 
Mormon sect had established itself at Nauvoo, in that State. In 
1844 its leader, Joseph Smith, was lynched by a mob, and in the 
following year his followers were forcibly expelled from Illinois. 
They marched westward into the Rocky Mountains, and settled in 
the Salt Lake Valley. 

Texas, which by the treaty with Spain in 
1819 had been ceded to Mexico, had seceded 
from that country in 1835. A Mexican army 
under Santa Anna captured the Alamo, a fort in 
San Antonio, and massacred its defenders, but 
was defeated at San Jacinto by the Texans, com- 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chap. 2. 





HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



manded bj^ Sam Houston. Texas was then organized as a republic, 
with Houston as its President, and though its " independence had 
never been conceded by Mexico," * it had been recognized by the 
United States and other powers. " The Americans who, in a spirit 
of adventure, migrated to Texas after that province had revolted 
from Mexico, became the controlling power in the young repub- 
lic," t and in April, 1844, it applied for admission into the Union. 

The question of the admission of Texas caused great excite- 
ment in the United States. It was generally opposed in the North 
likely to lead to war with Mexico. On the other 
d, Calhoun, the great Southern leader, 
urged the scheme of annexation with in- 
tense earnestness," J and the Democratic 
party favored it. In July the Senate re- 
jected a treaty admitting Texas, but the 
question became the principal issue in 
the ensuing Presidential campaign. 
Popular excitement was increased by a 
dispute with England for the posses- 
sion of the Territory of Oregon. 

The Democrats nominated James 
K. Polk of Tennessee, "chiefly because 
he was strongly in favor of the annexa- 
tion of Texas;" ^ the Whigs selected 
Henry Clay of Kentucky. In spite of 
the great personal popularity of Mr. Clay, 
rhose followers " had the profound personal 
attachment which is only looked for in heredi- 
:y governments, where loyalty becomes a pas- 
sion," II Air. Polk was successful. There was also 
an Abolitionist candidate in the field, James G. Birney of New 
York, who polled about sixty thousand votes, " largely at the ex- 
pense of the Whig party." ^ 

Regarding the election of Polk as "an unquestionable verdict 
from the people in favor of the annexation,"** Congress, just before 
the expiration of President Tyler's term, passed the necessary act. 




JOHN C. CALHOUN. 



* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I., Chap. 3, 

2 Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Polk). 

II Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chap. 2. 



f Ibid., Chap. 2. 
^ Ibid. ** Ibid. 



t Ibid. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



787 



Florida and Iowa were admitted as States two days later (Marcii 

3, 1845)- 

The year 1S44 is also memorable for the construction, between 

Washington and Baltimore, of the earliest electric telegraph, the 

invention of S. F. B. Morse. 

President Polk's administration began with two international 
difiiculties. That with England, on the Oregon question, was set- 
tled by a treaty fixing the northwestern boundary at latitude 49°. 
The Democratic cimpaign cry had been "54° 40' or fight," but it 
had become clear " that the English government would have gone 
to war rather than surrender the territory north of the forty- 
ninth parallel." '* f^ 

The annexation of Texas led to the Alexican 
War. " According to the persistent claim of the 
Mexican government, the Nueces river was the 
'western boundary' of Texas," f while the Texans 
asserted that their territory extended to the Rio 
Grande. Early in 1S46 General Zachary Taylor, 
who had entered the disputed tract, came into col- 
lision with Mexican troops, and on the 24th of 
April "the first blood was shed in that contest 
between the two republics which was destined to 
work such important results in the future and 
fortunes of both." % 

The first serious conflict occurred on the 8th 
of May, 1846, at Palo Alto, where "General Tay- 
lor, marching with less than 2,300 men towards 
Fort Brown, encountered about 6,000 ^Mexicans 
under General Arista," '^S and defeated them. The forces met again 
on the following day at Resaca de la Palma, with the same result. 
On the nth of May Congress declared war and called for 50,000 
volunteers. 

General Winfield Scott was commander-in-chief of the United 
States army; but "the plans submitted by him for a campaign in 
Mexico were disapproved by the administration " || as being unnec- 
essarily hazardous. "Taylor was therefore left in command," *[[ and 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chap. 3. j Ibid, Chap. 4. 
X Ibid, Chap. 4. | Lossing's CyclopEedia of U. 8. History (Palo Alto). 
II Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 9. ^ Ibid, Chap. 9. 




ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



44 



ySS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

advanced across the Rio Grande. In September he captured Mon- 
terey, capital of the province of Nuevo Leon, and agreed to an 
eight weeks' armistice to discuss terms of peace. 

Meanwhile Colonel Fremont, who had been at the head of an 
exploring expedition in the Rocky Mountains, had driven the Mex- 
icans from most of California. Monterey,' Los Angeles, and other 
posts on the coast, were captured by Commodores Sloat and Stock- 
ton in July and August, 1846. In December General Kearny ar- 
rived in California as commander of the Army of the West, having 
marched overland from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On the way 
he occupied Santa Fe, and detached Colonel Doniphan to strike 
southward into Mexico. On Christmas Day Doniphan defeated 
4,000 Mexicans under General de Leon at Bracito, and in the 
spring of 1S47 ^^ joined Tajdor's army. 

In 1847, negotiations for peace having failed, it was decided 
to try General Scott's plan for an invasion of Mexico, by landing 
at Vera Cruz and marching upon the capital. With this in view 
Scott withdrew from Taylor the best portion of his troops. There- 
upon Santa Anna moved up with nearl}^ 20,000 Mexicans to at- 
tack Taylor's remaining force of 5,000 men, which was " composed 
almost entirely of volunteers who had not been in battle before." * 
The armies met at Buena Vista, where Taylor won a brilliant 
victory, forcing Santa Anna to withdraw (February 23 and 24, 

1847)- 

General Scott landed at Vera Cruz in March with 12,000 

men — " a very small army with which to penetrate two hundred 
and sixty miles into an enemy's country and to besiege the cap- 
ital." t Events showed the wisdom of his plans, however, for "in 
a campaign of about six months he became the conqueror of Mex- 
ico." J After capturing Vera Cruz, with its fort of San Juan de 
Uloa, " as soon as transportation enough could be got together to 
move a division, the advance was commenced." ^S A Mexican force 
was drawn up to meet Scott at Cerro Gordo, at the foot of the 
mountains. "Santa Anna had selected this point as the easiest to 
defend against an invading army," || but Scott outflanked him and 
signally defeated him (April 18, 1847). ^^^ May the Americans 

* Grant's Memoirs, Chapter 9. f Ibid, Chapter 10. 

X Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Scott). 

g Grant's Memoirs, Chapter 10. || Ibid, Chapter 10. 




A THRILLING ESCAPE. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 789 

entered Puebla, where they halted to rest and await reinforce- 
ments. 

Leaving Puebla on the 7th of August, Scott's army crossed 
the mountains and saw before it the valley and city of Alexico. 
This was defended by extensive fortifications and about 32,000 
Mexican soldiers. To avoid the strongest of the enemy's works, 
Scott ordered a detour to the south, and approached the city from 
that direction. The fortified camp at Contreras and the fortress 
of San Antonio were captured on August 20th by the divisions of 
General Smith and General Worth. On the same da}^ the heights 
of Cherubusco, occupied by the Mexicans, were attacked and carried 
after a sharp struggle. In these operations " the strategy and 
tactics displayed by General Scott were faultless." * His loss was 
eleven hundred, while the enemy lost four thousand killed and 
wounded and three thousand prisoners. 

General Scott was now within three miles of the city of 
Mexico. Santa Anna applied for an armistice, which was granted, 
and negotiations for peace were again attempted. j\Ir. Trist, who 
was with Scott as commissioner for the government, demanded 
that " Texas was to be given up absolutely by Mexico, and New 
Mexico and California ceded to the United States for a stipulated 
sum to be afterward determined." f Santa Anna rejected the 
proposal, and fighting was resumed. On September 8th General 
Worth captured the Mexican post at Molino del Re}^, and on the 
13th the strong fortress of Chapultepec was attacked and stormed, 
leaving the Americans in command of the city of Mexico. "Dur- 
ing the night Santa Anna with his army left the city," J after 
"liberating all the convicts confined in the town," (J) anc; on the 
following day Scott's army entered it and raised the American flag 
over the government buildings. 

Santa Anna moved upon Puebla, where General vScott had 
left Major Childs, in charge of eighteen hundred sick and wounded. 
Childs held the town against Santa Anna until General Lane ar- 
rived with reinforcements and drove him off. Meanwhile negotia- 
tions had been opened with a " temporary government established 
at Queretaro, 1| which resulted in the conclusion of a treaty of 
peace, signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the 2d of February, 1848. 

* Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 11. f Ibid., Chap. 11. J Ibid., Chap. 11. 

gibid.. Chap. 11. || Ibid., Chap. 12. 



790 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



By its terms Mexico accepted the demands previously made by the | 
United States, recognizing the Rio Grande as the boundary of 
Texas, and receiving fifteen millions of dollars for New Mexico 
and California. On the 4th of July, 1848, President Polk pro- 
claimed the end of the war, which had been a brilliant one for the 
American army. Our soldiers had repeatedly vanquished thrice 
and four times their numbers of the enemy. It should be remem- 
bered, however, that " the Mexican army of that day was hardly 
an organization." * 

At the beginning of 1848 there were not more than fifteen 
thousand settlers in the territory of California. In February of 
that year gold was discovered there, the first 
nugget being found by one Marshall, at Captain 
Sutter's mill, on a branch of the Sacramento 
River, in Coloma County. The discovery created 
world-wide excitement, and there was a rush of 
immigration to the gold fields. The Forty-niners, 
as the gold seekers of 1849 were called, had to 
reach California by Cape Horn, by the Isthmus 
of Panama, or by a difi&cult and dangerous jour- 
ney across the great plains and the Rocky Mount- 
ains ; but they flocked to California in such num- 
bers that its population increased to 100,000, and 
it sought admission as a State. Wisconsin, the 
thirtieth State, had just secured admission (May, 
1848), but the application of California led to a 
serious political conflict. 

For the Presidential election of 1848 the 
Democrats nominated Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and William Butler, 
of Kentucky. The Whigs named General Zachary Taylor, of 
Louisiana, one of the heroes of the Mexican war, for President, and 
for Vice-President Millard Fillmore, who had served as a Congress- 
man and as Controller of his State, New York, " with rare ability 
and fidelity." t Ex-President Martin Van Buren was the candidate 
of the Free Soilers, whose platform demanded the prohibition of 
slavery in all the Territories of the United States The canvass 
resulted in the election of Taylor and Fillmore. 

* Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 12. 

f Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Fillmore). 




JAMES K. POLK 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



791 



President Taylor had a " blunt, honest, and stern character, 
that endeared him to the masses of the people," * His brief ad- 
ministration was mainly occupied by the dispute over the admis- 
sion of California. The constitution provisionally adopted had a 
clause forbidding slavery, and this was opposed by the representa- 
tives of the Southern States in Congress. The question was de- 
bated with a vehemence that foreshadowed the civil war, until in 
May, 1850, the Senate appointed a committee to devise a plan of 
compromise. Henry Clay, the great Whig statesman, was chair- 
man of the committee, and the chief author of the 
bill it drew up, which was nicknamed the 
Omnibus Bill, on account of the varied nature 
of its provisions. It admitted California 
with a free constitution. On the other 
hand, it provided for the arrest and re- 
turn to their masters of all slaves who 
might escape to a free State. At the 
same time, it abolished slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and created the 
Territories of Utah and New Mexico. 
slavery being prohibi:ed in the form^er 
but not in the latter. The bill was ac- 
cepted by Congress, and became a law 
in September, 1850. 

On the 9th of July President Taylor 
died after a brief illness, and was succeeded 
in office by ]\Ir. Fillmore, the Vice-President. 
President Fillmore conscientiously enforced the 
provisions of the Omnibus Bill ; but it became 
evident that the compromise was only partially 
successful, and that the views of the extremists on both sides were 
irreconcilable. 

In 1 85 1 our relations with Spain were imperiled by a filibus- 
tering invasion of Cuba, organized by one Lopez, who enlisted five 
hundred men in the South and Southwest. On landing in Cuba, 
Lopez's expedition was captured by the Spaniards, and some of its 
members were shot. 

Another difficulty with England arose in the following year. 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 2. 




HENRY CLAY. 



792 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




MILLARD FILLMORE 



It had been agreed in 1818 that American vessels 
should not fish within three miles of the Cana- 
dian shore. The Canadians claimed that by the 
treaty the Americans had no right to enter the 
gulfs and bays of the coast. Our fishermen held 
that they might do so, providing they kept three 
miles from land. In 1852 the dispute became so 
serious that British and American war-ships 
were ordered to the Canadian coast. The diffi- 
culty was arranged, however, without hostilities, 
although the question was not finally settled. 

In the Presidential campaign of that year 
the Democratic candidates were Franklin Pierce 
of New Hampshire, and William R. King of 
Alabama. The Whigs nominated General Win- 
field Scott of New Jersey, the . conqueror of 
Mexico, and William A. Graham of North Caro- 
lina. Both of these leading political parties indorsed the Omnibus 
Bill, though it was thoroughly popular with neither. It was openly 
opposed by the Free-Soilers, whose candidate for 
the Presidency was John P. Hale of New Hamp- 
shire. Mr. Pierce, who had served with distinc- 
tion in the Mexican war and in the United States 
Senate, was successful, receiving a large majority 
of the electoral vote. 

Two great statesmen died in 1852 — Henry 
Clay, the Whig leader, and Daniel Webster, the 
Massachusetts Senator. Webster's fame was as 
an orator and jurist. The speech he delivered 
in the Senate, in reply to Hayne of South Caro- 
lina, is " considered the most correct and com- 
plete exposition ever given of the true powers 
and functions of the national government." * 

In March, 1853, President Fillmore retired 
from office, "leaving the country in a state of 
peace within and without, and every department 
of industry flourishing," f although the bitterness of political par- 
tisanship was very great. The earliest acts of his successor's ad- 

* Lossin^'s Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Webster). f Ibid. (Fillmore). 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



•93 



ministration were the creation of the Territory of Arizona, and the 
sending out of expeditions to surve}^ a route for a railroad to the 
Pacific coast. 

Commodore Perry, who had been despatcHed to Japan b}' Presi- 
dent Fillmore to endeavor to open that country to American com- 
merce, reached Jeddo with his squadron in the summer of 1853. He 
succeeded in negotiating a treaty witb the emperor, by which Amer- 
ica was the first western nation to be admitted to Japanese ports. 

The conflict of parties in and out of Congress was renewed by 
the Kansas-Nebraska bill, brought forward in 1853 
b}- Senator Stephen Af Douglas, of Illinois. It 
created the Territories of Kansas and Ne- 
braska, and left the question of slaver}^ to 
be decided b}- their inhabitants, or by 
*' Squatter Sovereignt}-," as it was gener- 
ally termed. This was contrary- to the 
Missouri Compromise of 1820, which 
prohibited slavery in all territories 
north of latitude 36° 30'. Neverthe- 
less, in spite of strenuous opposition, 
the bill passed through Congress and 
became a law in Alay, 1S54. 

A violent struggle ensued in Kan- 
sas between the advocates and the op- 
ponents of slavery in the Territor}-. So 
much blood was shed in the contest that the 
Territory was termed " Bleeding Kansas," and 
the civil war of its hostile parties created great 
excitement throughout the countr}-. 

The conflict in Kansas was still in progress 
w'hen the time came for the election of 1856. In the summer the 
Democrats nominated James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, for Presi- 
dent, and John C. Breckinridge, of Kentuck}-, for Vice-President, 
and indorsed the Kansas-Nebraska act. The Whig party had become 
disintegrated, the great majority of its members having joined 
the new Republican party. This had sprung into existence on 
the issue of slaver^-, and declared that all the Territories should 
be free — the doctrine of the old Free-Soilers. The Republican 
candidates were John C. Fremont, of California, whose successful 




DANIEL WEBSTER. 



794 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



explorations in the far West had won him the sobriquet of the 
"Path-finder," and William L. Dayton, of New Jersey. The small 
American, or " Know-Nothing" party, which advocated the restric- 
tion of foreign immigration, nominated ex-President Fillmore. At 
the polls Buchanan and Breckinridge were victorious. 

President Buchanan's term of office was marked chiefly by the 
alarming increase of sectional animosities. The Fugitive Slave 
Law — that part of the Omnibus Bill compromise which provided for 
the arrest of escaped slaves — was extremely unpopular in the North. 
The opponents of slavery maintained a system known as the " Un- 
derground Railroad," by which slaves were, secretly aided to escape. 
Several Northern legislatures met the Federal 
law with Personal Liberty Bills, securing a trial 
to fugitive negroes. These bills, in turn, aroused 
much indignation in the South, where they were 
regarded as being in violation of the Constitution. 
In 1857 the Mormons of Salt Lake City, led 
by Brigham Young, expelled a United States judge 
from Utah, and openly defied the Federal author- 
ities. Troops were sent to suppress the rebellion, 
which subsided upon their arrival. 

Minnesota was admitted as a State in May, 
1858, and Oregon in the following February. 
This finally destroyed the balance in the number 
of free and slave States, long maintained by the 
admission of States in pairs, a Northern and a 
Southern State being created at about the same 
time. There were now eighteen Northern and 
fifteen Southern States, giving the former a majority of six in the 
Senate. In the House of Representatives its majority was sixty, 
owing to the rapid expansion of population in the North, whither 
immigrants were flocking in rapidly increasing numbers. 

In October, 1859, occurred an incident that greatly embittered 
the feeling between North and South. John Brown, a Free-Soil ex- 
tremist in Kansas, organized a raiding party of twenty-one men 
and seized the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, 
with the avowed object of causing a rising of the slaves. In this 
he was unsuccessful. After holding the arsenal for two days, he 
was attacked by a body of State and National troops, and his men," 




JAMES BUCHANAN 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 795 

except two, who escaped, were killed or captured. Brown was tried 
by the State of Virginia, convicted, and hanged. 

The one great issue of the Presidential campaign of i860 was 
the slavery question. The foreign relations of the country were 
at this time uniformly peaceful. "The long series of irritating 
and dangerous questions which had disturbed the relations of the 
United States and Great Britain, from the time of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, had reached final and friendly solution." * 
But while foreign affairs were on so satisfactory a footing, the 
political prospect at home was a troubled one. 

In April, the Democratic nominating convention met at 
Charleston, S. C. The delegates of extreme Southern views, finding 
themselves unable to control the convention, left it in a body, and 
nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky. The delegates 
who remained in the convention named Stephen A. Douglas, of 
Illinois, while a third section, which termed itself the Union party, 
put forward John Bell, of Tennessee. While the Democrats were 
thus hopelessly split, the Republicans were united for Abraham 
Lincoln, of Illinois, for President, and Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, 
for Vice-President. The result was the election of Lincoln in No- 
vember. 

Throughout the canvass Southern extremists had threatened 
that if Lincoln should be elected the South would leave the Union, 
and declared that they would not tolerate the administration of a 
President who was avowedly opposed to slavery. When the re- 
sult of the election was known they proceeded to prove that they 
meant what they said. On the 17th of December a convention 
met at Charleston, which, on the 20th, declared that South Caro- 
lina was no longer one of the United States. Six others — Missis- 
sippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Loiiisiana, and Texas, — took 
similar steps before the end of January, and on the 4th of Febru- 
ary a convention met at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new 
government under the name of the Confederate States of America. ' 
It elected Jefferson Davis, up to that time United States Senator 
from Mississippi, President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Geor- 
gia, Vice-President. 

Almost all the United States forts and posts throughout the 
Southern States had fallen into the hands of the secessionists, with 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. I, Chapter 26. 



796 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

a vast quantity of arms and stores, valued in all at nearly twenty 
millions of dollars. The government at Washington did nothing. 
The President's cabinet was largely composed of Southern sympa- 
thizers. General Cass, the Secretary of State, who favored an ac- 
tive policy, was forced to resign by the President's apathy. 

Neither section understood the other. The general opinion 
in the North was that the South would not take up arms when it 
had four millions of slaves in its population. The South believed 
that the North would not fight for the maintenance of the Union. 
But meanwhile the country was drifting into civil war. 

On the 9th of January, 1861, the steamer Star of the West, 
despatched to relieve Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor — one of 
the few Southern forts still held by the Federal government — was 
fired upon and driven off, Bven after this overt act of hostility. 
President Buchanan adopted no decided plan of action. He declared 
that he had "no authority to decide what shall be the relations 
between the Federal government and South Carolina." * 

In January, 1861, Kansas, where the anti-slavery party had 
finally been victorious, was admitted into the Union as a State. 

Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, the President elect, and one of 
the most remarkable figures of American history, was a man of 
humble origin. Born in Kentucky in 1809, he grew to manhood 
in what was then the backwoods of Indiana. At twenty-one, mov- 
ing to Illinois, he became the keeper of a store. Then, a self- 
taught law3^er, he was elected to the State Legislature and to Con- 
gress. He was brought into national prominence by his unsuccess- 
ful contest against Stephen A. Douglas for a seat in the Senate. 

Since his election to the Presidency, so bitter had been the 
speeches of his extreme opponents, that fears were entertained for 
his personal safety on his journey to Washington. But after mak- 
ing "a quick and secret night journey through Baltimore to the 
Federal capital," f he was inaugurated without disturbance on the 
4th of March, 1861. For his cabinet, "Mr. Lincoln chose his ablest 
friends," J the most noted members being William H. Seward, 
Secretary of State; Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War; and Sal- 
mon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. 

Expecting that Fort Sumter would be reinforced by the Fed- 

*Nicolay & Hay's Lincoln, Vol. Ill, Chapter 5. 

t Ibid, Vol. Ill, Chapter 20. J Ibid, Vol. Ill, Chapter 22. 




s//cuA>iycir^ 



FROM A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BEFORE HIS ELECTION IN 1860. 



798 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

eral government, the Confederate forces at Charleston decided to 
attack it. On the 12th of April, "at about half-past four, as the 
dim outline of Fort Sumter began to define itself in the morning 
twilight," * the bombardment began, and on the 13th Major Ander- 
son, commanding the fort, surrendered it. The news that the Con- 
federates had thus made "active, aggressive war upon the United 
States " t caused great excitement throughout the country. Presi- 
dent Lincoln at once issued a call for 75,000 volunteers, to serve 
three months, and the summons met with a ready response in the 
North. 

The fall of Sumter heightened the enthusiasm of the South. 
On the 17th of April Virginia passed a secession ordinance. Bodies 
of State militia were immediately despatched to seize the United 
States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and the great navy yard at Nor- 
folk. The commander of the arsenal abandoned it, after firing the 
buildings and destroying a part of the stores. The same course 
was taken by the Federal officers at the Norfolk navy yard, the war 
ships there being sunk or burned, and the cannon spiked. The 
Confederates, however, captured an immense amount of guns and 
stores, and afterwards raised some of the sunken vessels. 

Three more States followed their Southern sisters out of the 
Union — Arkansas, May 6 ; North Carolina, May 20 ; and Tennes- 
see, June 6. This raised the number of the Confederate States to 
eleven. 

The first volunteer regiment to arrive in Washington was the 
Sixth Massachusetts. While passing through Baltimore on its 
way to the capital, on the 19th of April, it was attacked by a mob, 
and "lost four men killed and thirty-six wounded." J Other reg- 
iments rapidly followed, and on the 3rd of May the President is- 
sued a call for eighty thousand additional troops, to serve for three 
years, "swelling the entire military establishment of the nation to 
an army of 156,861, and a navy of 25,600." § 

At this time "Lieutenant-General Scott commanded the army 
in chief." || The conqueror of Mexico, although a Virginian, and 
though he personally "deprecated war,"^ had adhered to the Fed- 
eral cause. So quickly had the Northern States answered President 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. IV, Chapter 3. f Ibid, Vol. IV, Chapter 3. 

X Ibid, Vol. IV. Chapter 6. ^ Ibid, Vol. IV, Chapter 14. 

II Sherman's Memoirs, Chapter 8. If Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. IV., Chapter 5. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 799 

Lincoln's call that " all fears for the safety of the capital had ceased, 
and quite a large force of regulars and volunteers had been col- 
lected in and about Washington." * 

On the 23rd of May, a brigade commanded by General Irwin 
McDowell crossed the Potomac and occupied Alexandria. After 
two months of drilling and organizing the recruits, " the cry of 
* On to Richmond ! ' forced General Scott to hasten his preparations 
and order a general advance about the middle of July."f As yet the 
Federal troops were " far from being soldiers." J General Sherman, 
who was under McDowell, asserts that on the march, " with all his 
personal efforts, he could not prevent the men from straggling for 
water, blackberries, or any thing on the way they fancied." ^ 

Richmond had been selected as the capital of the seceded 
States, whose government was to assemble there on the 20th of 
July. At the beginning of the month the Confederates "had two 
armies in front of Washington ; the one at Manassas Junction, 
commanded by General Beauregard ; the other, commanded by 
General Joseph H. Johnston, w^as at Winchester." || On the 21st 
of July McDowell attacked Beauregard. The ensuing battle of Bull 
Run was ''one of the best planned battles of the war, but one of the 
worst fought." ^ Johnston arriving to reinforce Beauregard, Mc- 
Dowell's troops became panic-stricken and fled in disorder. Had 
the Confederate army pursued them, it might have entered the 
Federal capital. Indeed, Johnston's " failure to capture W^ashing- 
ton received strong and general condemnation in the South." ** 

Meanwhile hostilities had begun at other points. General 
George B. McClellan, who after serving in the Mexican war had 
retired, and had become "president of the Ohio and IMississippi 
railroad, "ff was placed in command of a Union force in western Vir- 
ginia. He defeated the Confederates at Philippi on June 3, and at 
Rich Mountain on July 11. He was then called to Washington to 
take command of the army there. General Rosecrans, who succeeded 
him in Western Virginia, won the battles of Carnifex Ferry and 
Cheat Mountain, and drove the Confederates from that part of the 
State west of the Alleghany Mountains. 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chapter S. f Ibid, Chapter 8. J Ibid, Chapter 8. 
§ Ibid, Chapter 8. 1| Ibid, Chapter 8. ^ Ibid, Chapter 8. 

** Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chapter 2. 
ft Nicolay and Hay's Lincolh, Vol. IV, Chapter 16. 



800 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Kentucky and Missouri, although slave holding States, had not 
joined the Confederacy. The sympathies of their citizens were di- 
vided. General Polk, ordered by the Richmond government to 
occupy Kentucky, blocked the Mississippi by fortifying Columbus. 
In Missouri, the secession party made a great effort to carry the 
State out of the Union. " Governor Jackson, having decided on 
revolution, formed at St. Louis a nominal camp of instruction 
under the State Militia laws," * where he designed to assemble a 
Confederate army. But the camp was broken up by General Lyon, 
who defeated Jackson's forces at Booneville on June 17, 1861. Jack- 
son was again defeated by Colonel Siegel at Carthage on July 5th. 
General Lyon was killed at Wilson's Creek on the loth of August, 
and the Confederate General Price on September 20th captured 2,600 
Union troops at Lexington. In November, General Halleck, a man 
"not only practically accomplished in his profession as a soldier, 
but also distinguished as a writer on military art and science," f 
was appointed to command the Federal army of the West, and drove 
Price southward toward Arkansas. 

A brigade of Halleck's army was stationed at Cairo, " the mili- 
tary key of the Mississippi Valley." J From this point 3,000 men 
under General Ulysses S. Grant were sent to attack the Confederate 
camp at Belmont, on the Mississippi opposite Columbus, but re- 
treated after fighting ''a drawn battle," >J) November 7, 1861. 

On taking command at Washington, General IMcClellan busied 
himself during the fall and winter in drilling and organizing his 
army of recruits. The only battle fought during the remainder of 
the year was that of Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, in which 1,900 
Union troops under Colonel Baker were defeated with heavy loss 
by General Evans, October 21. 

At sea, the Federal government had in April proclaimed a 
blockade of all the Southern ports. Almost all the forts and de- 
fenses on the coast had been seized by the Confederates at the out- 
break of the war. Fort Pickens, at Pensacola, had been held by its 
commander. The fortifications at Hatteras Inlet were captured by 
Commodore Stringham and General Butler in August, and in No- 
vember the important harbor of Port Royal, South Carolina, was 
taken. 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. IV. Chapter ii. f Ibid, Vol. V, Chapter 5. 
X Ibid, Vol. IV, Chapter 10. g Ibid, Vol. V, Chapter 7. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 8oi 

In October the Richmond government despatched two com- 
missioners, Mason and Slidell, to treat with the French and British 
governments. After running the blockade from Charleston, they 
reached Cuba, and took passage for England on the British ship 
Trent. Captain Wilkes, in the United States steamer San Ja- 
cinto, stopped the Trent, seized Mason and Slidell, and carried 
them to Boston. His action, of doubtful legality, caused great 
excitement in England, and " seriously threatened to embroil the 
nation in a war with Great Britain." * Mr. Seward, Secretary of 
State, at once declared that Captain Wilkes had acted without 
authority, and the two commissioners were allowed to sail for 
England from Boston. Their missions proved entirely fruitless. 

The year 1862 '' brought stirring events to the armies in the 
West." t The fighting opened in Kentucky. General Sherman, 
ordered to Louisville in the preceding fall, had complained that 
his "force was out of all proportion to the importance of the posi- 
tion." J A large army had now been stationed in that section, 
under General Buell. Two of Buell's subordinates. Colonel Gar- 
field and General Thomas, won the battles of the Big Sandy and 
Mill Spring, respectively, in January, 1862. 

General Grant, in command of a brigade of Halleck's army, 
had suggested to that of&cer that, "if permitted, he could take , 

and hold Fort Henry, on the Tennessee," (J an important Confed- ^ 

erate position. He was ordered to advance on the fort, while a 
fleet of gunboats, under Commodore Foote, was ordered to attack 
it from the river. Before Grant reached the fort it had surrendered 
to the gunboatS; February 6. 

Most of its garrison had escaped to Fort Donelson, on the 
Cumberland River, twelve miles away. General Grant, " knowing 
the importance of the place," || pushed on to attack it. He was 
obliged to wait until February 14 before the gunboats could steam 
down the Tennessee to Cairo, and up the Cumberland to Fort Don- 
elson. The fort was a strong post. To reduce it Grant had 
" 15,000 men, including eight batteries," ^ while it was "probable 
that the Confederate force was 21,000."** On the 15th the defend- 
ers attempted to break Grant's lines, but were repulsed, and their 

* Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. V, Chapter 2. f Ibid., Vol. V, Chapter 7. 

J Sherman's Memoirs, Chapter 8. § Grant's Memoirs, Chapter 21. 

II Ibid., Chapter 21. ![ Ibid., Chapter 21. **Ibid., Chapter 22. 



8o2 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Generals, Floyd and Pillow, fled with a part of the garrison. 
Next day General Buckner, on whom the command had devolved, 
offered to treat with Grant, who returned the famous message, 
" No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can 
be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." * 
Buckner thereupon surrendered the fort, with 12,000 men — the 
greatest success yet achieved by the Federal forces. 

Owing to a misunderstanding with Halleck, Grant was for a 
time, after the capture of Fort Donelson, ''virtually under arrest 
and without a command," f although he "had done so much that 
General Halleck should have been patient." J He was, however, 
speedily reinstated, and moved his forces southward toward Cor- 
inth, " the great stragetic position being the Tennessee and Missis- 
sippi Rivers, and between Nashville and Vicksburg." § 

At this time " all the Confederate troops west of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, with the exception of those in the extreme 
South," II were commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnston, 
" a man of high character and ability, but vacillating and undecided 
in his actions." % After the fall of Fort Donelson, General John- 
ston "abandoned Nashville and fell back into northern Missis- 
sippi." ** On April 6, 1862, he suddenly attacked Grant's army, 
which was at Shiloh Church, near Pittsburg Landing, on the 
Tennessee. The ensuing battle of Shiloh "was the severest bat- 
tle fought in the West during the war," f f and one that has been 
the subject of a great deal of controversy." ^^J The Union forces, 
whose " effective strength was 33,000," •J'J were during the first day 
driven back, after some desperate fighting in which General John- 
ston was killed. On the 7th Grant was reinforced by General 
Lewis Wallace, who ''did not arrive in time to take part in the 
first day's fight." || || The Federal troops recovered their lost 
ground and drove the Confederates from the field — a success which 
" gave the men that achieved it great confidence." %^ 

Meanwhile " the Army of the Mississippi, commanded by 
Major-General John M. Pope, was moving directly down the Mis- 
sissippi River, against that portion of the Confederate line which, 

* Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 22. f Ibid., Chap. 23. X Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 9. 

^ Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 24. || Ibid., Chap. 23. % Ibid., Chap. 25. ** Ibid.. Chap. 23. 

ff Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 25. JJ Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 9. 

2? Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 25. |||| Ibid., Chap. 24. TfTf Ibid., Chap. 25. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 803 

under Generals Polk and Pillow, had fallen back from Columbus, 
Kentucky, to Island No. 10 and New Madrid." * Pope, who, 
" though still a j'-oung man, was a veteran soldier," and " had 
served with great distinction in the Mexican war," f captured Isl- 
and No. 10, with 5000 prisoners, on the 7th of April, 1862. The 
Union gunboats captured Fort Pillow on June 4, and two days 
later Memphis surrendered to them. 

In August the Confederates made another attempt to conquer 
Kentucky. " Two Confederate armies, under General Kirb}^ Smith 
and General Braxton Bragg, penetrated "J into that State from 
eastern Tennessee. Smith defeated a Union force at Richmond) 
Kentucky (August 30), and Bragg captured a body of 4500 men at 
Mumfordsville (September 17). After threatening Cincinnati and 
Louisville, the two Confederate armies united at Frankfort, and on 
the 8th of October met Buell's forces in the severe battle of Perry- 
ville. Buell had the best of the fight, but Bragg's troops " retired 
in good order," § and took a vast quantity of captured stores into 
Tennessee. 

After the battle of Shiloh General Halleck " reorganized and 
rearranged the whole army" || on the Tennessee, reinforcing Grant's 
troops with those of General Pope. Corinth, evacuated by the Con- 
federates, was occupied on the 30th of May. Halleck was then sum- 
moned to Washington to become general in chief, and was succeeded 
by Grant, who prepared to move against the Confederate stronghold 
at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He sent Sherman down the Mississippi 
with 40,000 men and Admiral Porter's gunboats, while he himself 
pushed forward by land. But the Confederate General Van Dorn 
got into Grant's rear, cut off his supplies at Holly Springs, and 
forced him to retreat. Sherman embarked at Memphis, landed 
north of Vicksburg, and attacked the works at Chickasaw Bayou, 
where he was decisively repulsed (December 29, 1862). 

Meanwhile General Rosecrans, in command at Corinth, had 
been attacked (October 4) by Generals Price and Van Dorn, but had 
driven them off with heavy loss. He then marched against Bragg, 
who had just retreated from Kentucky. They met in the bloody 
battle of Stone River, near Murfreesboro (December 31, 1862, to 
January 2, 1863), which although ''a negative victor}^ so far as con- 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 10. f Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VI, Chap. i. 
X Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 11. § Ibid. || Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 10. 

45 



8o4 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

cerned the result on the battle-field," * was on the whole a Federal 
success, and "West Tennessee and Kentucky were never again seri- 
ously threatened by the armies of the Confederacy." f 

In Missouri there was fighting during the early part of 1862 
between the Confederates under Price, McCullough, and Van Dorn, 
and a Union force under General Curtis, whose "strength through- 
out the campaign was about fifteen thousand men." J The latter 
was victorious in the important battle of Pea Ridge, fought in 
Arkansas, March 7. 

Early in the year a Federal fleet and army assembled at Ship 
Island, off the mouth of the Mississippi, to operate against the 
southern coast of the Confederacy. "New Orleaus, being the most 
important prize, both military and political, became the principal 
objective point," \S and in April the attack was begun. The fleet 
was commanded by Admiral Farragut, a man " sixty years of age, 
forty-eight of which had been spent in the naval service." || On the 
24th of April he ran past Forts St. Philip and Jackson, which de- 
fended the entrance to the Mississippi, attacked and destro^^ed a 
Confederate squadron, and on the following day reached New Or- 
leans, of which the troops under General Butler at once took pos- 
session. Farragut went on to Baton Rouge, and, passing Vicksburg, 
joined the squadron of the upper Mississippi at Memphis. 

In January, 1862, an expedition under General Burnside sailed 
to attack Roanoke Island, on the North Carolina coast. It was 
completely successful, capturing the island, destroying the Con- 
federate fleet in Albemarle Sound, and taking Fort Macon and 
Newbern. In March another expedition, from Port Royal, took 
Jacksonville, Florida, Brunswick, Georgia, and other towns on the 
coast. 

On the 8th of March the Federal fleet that lay in Hampton 
Roads, off Fortress Monroe, was attacked by the Merrimac. This 
was one of the ships sunk at the surrender of the Norfolk navy 
yard. The Confederates had raised her, covered her deck with 
railroad iron, fitted her with a ram, and named her the Virginia. 
She now rammed and sank the Union ship Cumberland, and drove 

* Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 13. 

f Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VI, Chap. 13. 

X Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 13. 

§ Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. V, Chap. 15. || Ibid. 




(8o5) 



r 



806 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the Congress ashore. At sunset she returned to Norfolk. On the 
following day, returning to complete the destruction of the Federal 
fleet, she was met by the Monitor, an iron turret ship of novel con- 
struction, which had just arrived from the North. In the duel that 
followed, the Merrimac was disabled and driven back to Norfolk. 

In April, the capture of Fort Pulaski by the Federals, under 
General Hunter, closed the port of Savannah. 

Of all the campaigns of 1862 the most important was fought 








ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC IN HAMPTON ROADS ON MARCH 8, 1862. 

in northern and eastern Virginia. On the loth of March ]\Ic- 
Clellan crossed the Potomab, but after advancing a short distance 
he decided "that operations would best be undertaken from Old 
Point Comfort, between the York and James rivers." * The bulk 
of his army was transported thither by April 2, and he moved up 
the peninsula between the rivers, toward Richmond. At Yorktown 
Magruder, with 10,000 Confederate troops, held him at bay for a 
month, but evacuated the place on May 4. McClellan then advanced 
rapidl}^, winning the battles of Williamsburg (May 5) and West 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. \', Chapter lo. 



HISTORY' OF THE UNITED STATES. 



807 



Poiut (May 9). At the end of the month his advance guard was 
only seven miles from Richmond. 

Confederate forces were hastily collected from all quarters for 
the defense of their capital. The navy yard at Norfolk was de- 
stroyed and abandoned, the Virginia, or ]\Ierriniac, being blown 
up. With all the troops he could gather General Joseph K. John- 
ston attacked McClellan at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks (^lay 31 
and June i), but was defeated and severely wounded. ^ 

Notwithstanding his success, McClellan delayed moving upon 
Richmond. He overrated his opponent's strength, " as was gener- 
ally done by the opposing commanders during the war,"* and 
"kept up a continual cry for reinforcements." f 
His inactivity gave the Confederates time 
their army "stronger in numbers than it 
been before." J General Robert B. Lee, 
succeeded Johnston, attacked him on the 
June in the first of the " seven days' 
battles." Though he repelled Lee's as- 
saults on the first two days, McClellan 
fell back toward the James River. On 
the 27th, at Gaines' Mill, he w^as 
heavily defeated. After two more inde- 
cisive battles he reached Malvern Hill, 
on the James, where Lee was driven 
back by the fire of the Union gun- 
boats. 

McClellan's Peninsula campaign had 
proved a failure. The stubborn " re- 
sistance of the Confederates compelled the Federal general to 
abandon his plan of operations," {) and his army was withdrawn 
down the James. 

At the same time General "Stonewall" Jackson, with 20,000 
Confederate troops, had successfully defied the Union forces in the 
Shenandoah Valley. In May he captured a Union force at Front 
Royal, and chased General Banks out of the Valley. Banks only 

* Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chapter i. 
f Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. V, Chapter 23. 
X Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chapter 4. 
§ Ibid, Chapter 5. 




ROBERT E. LEE. 



8o8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

saved his command by a hasty retreat across the Potomac. Gen- 
erals Shields and Fremont were sent against Jackson, who fell back 
before them and then defeated them separately at Cross Keys and 
Port Republic, June 8 and 9, 1862. He then moved to Richmond 
to join Lee. 

At the beginning of August Lee marched northward toward 
Washington. On the 9th he met and defeated General Banks at 
Cedar Mountain. An army of 40,000 men under General Pope still 
lay between Lee and the Potomac, but fell back before the Con- 
federates' advance. On August 26, Lee attacked the Federal force 
at Manassas Junction, and captured a great quantity of stores. 
The rest of the month was spent in severe but indecisive fighting 
at Centreville, Gainesville, and Chantilly, nearly opposite Wash- 
ington. After losing 30,000 men in the campaign, Pope retreated 
across the Potomac. 

The President had ordered a fresh levy of 300,000 troops (July 
I, 1862) and the Federal forces at Washington were reorganized 
and greatly strengthened, McClellan succeeding Pope in the com- 
mand. The time "for training and drilling was brief; for wn thin 
a few days the news came that Lee had crossed the Potomac into 
Maryland." *_ The Confederate commander detached Jackson to 
attack Harper's Ferry, which was held by Colonel Miles with 13,000 
men. Miles surrendered to Jackson, after a weak resistance, Sep- 
tember 15. On the previous day McClellan had marched between 
the armies of Lee and Jackson and defeated the former at South 
Mountain. 

Lee, whose situation was perilous, retreated towards the Poto- 
mac, halting near Sharpsburgh, Maryland, to await Jackson, who 
was hurrying back from Harper's Ferry. The Confederate forces 
had had time to reunite when McClellan attacked them at Antietam 
Creek. The battle, one of the bloodiest of the war, was indecisive, 
but on the next day Lee withdrew across the Potomac. 

McClellan did not pursue him, and after six weeks of in- 
activity President Lincoln removed him from command, replacing 
him with General Burnside. Burnside moved forward, crossed 
the Rappahannock, and attacked Lee at Fredericksburg, where he 
was repulsed with great slaughter. 

In September, 1862, President Lincoln had warned the se- 

Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. V'l, Chapter 7. 



rTff*™'TTr!TWfiPllPi 




(809) 



8lO HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ceded States that unless they returned to their allegiance he 
would issue a proclamation declaring all slaves within their borders 
free. The proclamation was indeed " published in full by the 
leading newspapers of the country on the morning of September 
23d."* On the ist of January, 1863, it was formally issued. 

After his defeat at Fredericksburg, General Burnside was 
succeeded in command of the Arm}^ of the Potomac by General 
Joseph Hooker. In April, 1863, the Federal forces made another 
attempt to reach Richmond, and again they met with- disaster. 
After crossing the Rappahannock they were attacked by the Con- 
federates at Chancellorsville, on the 2d and 3d of May, and de- 
feated. "The losses were large on both sides," f Hooker's being 
17,000 men killed, wounded, and missing. The Confederates lost 
12,000, among whom was General Jackson, mortally wounded 
through mistake by his own men. 

Hooker retreated across the Rappahannock, while Lee moved 
forward and threatened Washington. Hooker marched rapidly to 
the defense of the capital, and the Confederates, instead of attack- 
ing it, advanced northward across Maryland into Pennsylvania. 

The invasion of Pennsylvania caused great alarm in the 
North, and great efforts were made to strengthen the forces around 
Washington. Hooker was superseded by General George G. 
Meade, an officer who "had served with distinction on almost 
every battle-field of the Army of the Potomac." J Meade took up 
a strong position at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with eighty thou- 
sand men, and on the ist of July Lee attacked him with about 
the same number. The battle, the most decisive in the war, was 
fiercely fought for three days, and ended in the Confederates' de- 
feat, with the loss of nearl}^ half their army. On the 4th of July 
Lee withdrew his crippled force across the Potomac, and retreated 
beyond the Rapidan. 

After his repulse from Chickasaw Bayou, in front of Vicks- 
burg (December 29, 1862), Sherman, who thought that " Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Arkansas were the key to the whole interior," § 
speedily resumed the offensive. On January 10, 1863, he captured 
Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas River. A few days later "Admiral 

* Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VII, Chap. 8. 

t Ibid., Vol. VII, Chap. 8. t Ibid., Vol. VII, Chap. 4. 

g Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 12. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 8ll 

Porter was equally busy on the Yazoo River," * and Grant, who 
had now reached the scene of action, made several successive at- 
tempts upon the defenses of Vicksburg from the same side. But 
the Mississippi and its branches were "very high and rising," f 
and for three months Grant could not get near enough to strike. 
He then moved his army to. the western bank of the river, and 
went down it to New Carthage, below Vicksburg, running his gun- 
boats and transports past the Confederate batteries. IMeanwhile he 
had despatched Grierson, with 1,700 cavalry, on a raid through Mis- 
sissippi, to the rear of Vicksburg, which was successfully executed, 
and caused great damage to the communications of the Confederates. 

On the 29th of April Grant attacked Grand Gulf, on the 
Mississippi, but was repulsed. The next day, however, he crossed 
at Bruinsburg, lower down, and defeated the Confederate com- 
mander, Pemberton, at Port Gibson. General Joseph E. Johnston 
was advancing toward Vicksburg with a second force, and Grant 
"prepared with his usual energy to prevent the two Confederate 
generals from effecting their junction." J He met and defeated 
Johnston at Jackson (May 14), pushed in between him and Pem- 
berton, and drove the latter into Vicksburg. 

Twice Grant attempted to carry the works of Vicksburg by 
assault. He was twice repulsed, and settled down to a siege of 
the place. His position was so strong that Johnston made no 
attempt at relief, and "on the 3d of July, about 10 o'clock A. M., 
white flags appeared on a portion of the works." § On the 4th, 
the surrender of Pemberton and his army, which numbered about 
30,000, was completed. 

Four days later Port Hudson surrendered to the Federal troops 
under General Banks. "The Mississippi River was now wholly in 
the possession of the Union forces," || an achievement that aroused 
"new hopes for the final success of the Union cause." ^ Johnston's 
army at once " fell back to Jackson." ** A few days later the " evac- 
uation of Jackson was decided on, and was accomplished before day- 
break "ff of July 17, but Grant did not pursue. 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. ii. f Ibid., Chap. 12. 

X Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VII, Chap. 5. 

^Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 38. || Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 13. 

T[ Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 39. 

** Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chap. 7. ff Ibid., Chap. 8. 




GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 813 

After the battle of Stone River, at the beginning of January, 
1863, Rosecrans' Ariiiy of the Cumberland lay inactive until June, 
facing that of Bragg. Rosecrans then advanced through Tennessee 
and occupied Chattanooga, Bragg falling back before him. On Sep- 
tember 9 Rosecrans telegraphed to Washington that he expected 
no resistance from Bragg, but "it took but one day's marching to 
disconcert these confident expectations." * Bragg had been rein- 
forced, and was prepared to resist Rosecrans' advance. On Sep- 
tember 19, when the Union army had just entered Georgia, Bragg 
attacked it at Chickamauga Creek. It was defeated after a two 
days' battle, and would have been routed had it not been for the 
gallant stand made by General George H. Thomas. Bragg's report 
of the fight declared that he "had driven the enemy from the State 
of Georgia, and was still pursuing him."t General Sheridan states 
that it "left in the Cofederates' possession not much more than the 
barren results arising from the simple holding of the ground on 
which the engagement was fought." 4! 

Rosecrans, who had lost 16,000 men, fell back to Chattanooga. 
Bragg occupied the heights above the town, and Rosecrans' situa- 
tion became perilous. In this emergency " the Secretary of War 
directed General Grant to proceed immediately to the front " *^^ and 
take command of the ami}- at Chattanooga. Arriving in Novem- 
ber, and being reinforced b}^ Sherman and Hooker, Grant prepared 
to attack the Confederates, who " were looking upon the garrison 
of Chattanooga as prisoners of war." || On the 24th Lookout 
Mountain was stormed by Hooker's division, and the following day 
Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge, and carried it, driving Bragg 
back into Georgia. In these battles Grant had "in round numbers 
about 60,000 men. Bragg had about half this number, but his posi- 
tion was supposed to be impregnable." ^ 

On the ist of Januar}-, 1863, the Confederate General Alagru- 
der captured the port of Galveston, Texas, together with a United 
States steamer and a great quantity of stores. Elsewhere in the 
Southwest the Federal forces were successful. The Confederates 

* Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VIII, Chap. 4. 

f Johnston's Narrative of Mihtary Operations, Chap. 8. 

X Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 15. 

§ Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VIII, Chap. 4. 

II Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 41. ^ Ibid., Chap. 45. 



8l4 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

were driven from Helena and Little Rock, Arkansas, by Generals 
Prentiss and Steele, and forced to retreat beyond the Red River. 
Throughout the summer there was guerilla warfare in the Indian 
Territory. Quantrell, who was little more than a bandit, raided 
the town of Lawrence, Kansas, and murdered 140 of its citizens. 

Another raid was that of General Morgan, who with 3000 Con- 
federate cavalry passed through Kentucky in June, and invaded Indi- 
ana and Ohio. His retreat was cut off by a Union force and by the 
gunboats on the Ohio, and on the 27th of July he was captured at 
New Lisbon, Ohio. 

Charleston was attacked by two Federal expeditions in 1863. 
The first, under Admiral Dupont, was repulsed with heavy loss on 
the 7th of April. The second, under General Gillmore, effected a 
landing on Morris Island, demolished Fort Sumter, and captured 
Fort Wagner, thus closing the harbor (September 6). 

In June, 1863, Congress passed an act admitting West Vir- 
ginia, whose citizens had opposed secession, into the Union as a 
separate State. 

The great armies called for by the Federal government were, 
throughout the war, readily furnished by the North, except in 
one instance. In July, 1863, during Lee's invasion of Pennsyl- 
vania, the drafting of troops in New York was resisted by rioters, 
who killed several negroes and destroyed much property. Gover- 
nor Seymour, of New York, though he was himself " convinced 
of the illegality and impolicy of the draft," * took measures to 
suppress the riot, which ended after considerable loss of life. 

The last fighting of the year 1863 took place around Knox- 
ville, Tennessee, where in November a Federal force, under General 
Burnside, was closely beleaguered by General Longstreet. On 
November 29th Longstreet made a fierce attack on the defenses of 
the city, but was repulsed. Four days later, hearing that Grant 
had detached Sherman to relieve Burnside, he raised the siege and 
withdrew into Virginia. 

"The winter of 1863-64 was unusually cold," f and military 
operations, except in the extreme South, were suspended. In 
February Sherman, who was stationed at Vicksburg, planned an 
expedition through northern Mississippi, in order '' to prevent 
further molestation of boats navigating the Mississippi, and there- 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VH, Chap. 2. f Ibid., Vol. VIII, Chap. 13. 




(8l5) 



8i6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

by to widen the gap in the Confederacy." * In spite of a defeat 
inflicted upon a part of his forces at Meridian by General Forrest, 
he returned to Vicksburg, after doing great damage to the Con- 
federate communications. Forrest pushed on into Tennessee, cap- 
tured Union City (March 24), fruitlessly assaulted Paducah, and 
on the 1 2th of April took Fort Pillow, near Memphis. Some 
negroes among its garrison were shot after the surrender. 

In March another expedition from Vicksburg moved up the 
Red River, in Louisiana, with 10,000 troops under General Smith, 
and a gunboat squadron under Admiral Porter. After the capture 
of Natchitoches (March 21), General Banks joined the expedition 
with a force from New Orleans, and took command. Advancing 
toward Shreveport, he was attacked and severely defeated at 
Sabine Cross Roads (x\pril 8), and fell back to Alexandria. The 
gunboats were caught above the rapids at Alexandria by the fall 
of the river, and must have been abandoned had not Colonel 
Bailey, a Wisconsin lumberman, constructed a great dam, that so 
deepened the water as to allow the fleet to pass. Meanwhile Gen- 
eral Steele had moved from Arkansas to join Banks, at Shreve- 
port Hearing of the latter's defeat, he fell back, severely pressed 
by the Confederates. The Red River expedition had ended in 
failure, and General Banks was superseded by General Canby. 

At the beginning of March, Grant was summoned to Wash- 
ing-ton from the West, to take command of all the Federal forces. 
Sherman "accompanied him as far as Cincinnati on his way"t to 
the capital, to arrange plans for concerted action. Grant's inten- 
tion was " to employ the full strength of the army in a simulta- 
neous movement all along the line." J He himself designed to 
advance on Richmond with the Army of the Potomac, while Sher- 
man struck at Atlanta with a force composed of the three Western 
armies — those of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee. 
The main forces of the Confederac}^ were grouped before Rich- 
mond, under Lee, and in northern Georgia, under Johnston. 

On the 7th of May, 1864, Sherman moved out of Chattanooga 
with 100,000 men. Johnston confronted him with 70,000 men^ 
and a series of battles followed, Sherman gradually pushing for- 
ward. After two days of desperate fighting at Resaca, ]\Iay 14 

'■'Sherman's Memoirs, Chapter 14. f Ibid., Chapter 15. 
X Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol.VIII, Chapter 14. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 817 

and 15, Johnston fell back to Dallas, where Sherman defeated him 
and turned AUatoona Pass (May 25 to 28). At the end of May 
Sherman "had advanced over nearly a hundred miles of as dif&- 
cult country as was ever fought over by civilized armies." * The 
wooded hills of Georgia were so defensible that Sherman reported 
that "the whole country was one vast fort."t There was heavy 
fighting at Lost Mountain on June 15, 16, and 17, and again on 
the 22d at Kenesaw Mountain, where Johnston had taken up a 
strong position. On the morning of June 27 Sherman ordered 
an attack. " By half-past eleven the assault was over and had 
failed," J the Federal troops having been repelled by Johnston's 
" intrenched infantry, unsurpassed by that of Napoleon's Old 
Guard." 5> Sherman still pressed forward, however, and on the 
loth of July he forced Johnston to retire within the fortifications 
of Atlanta. 

The Richmond government, dissatisfied with Johnston's fail- 
ure to arrest Sherman's advance, now removed him from his com- 
mand, substituting General Hood. For some time the siege of 
Atlanta made "slow and steady progress," || Sherman being "held 
in check by the stubborn defense " % of the garrison. Near the 
end of July Hood three times attacked the Federal lines, but was 
three times driven back, and in the last of these battles (July 28) 
his forces were divided and he was compelled to abandon the city, 
retreating northward. On the 2nd of September Sherman entered 
Atlanta, where he rested to prepare for his intended march through 
Georgia to Savannah. 

" While Sherman was planning his march to the sea. General 
Hood was devising a counter-scheme of invasion." ** He moved 
into Tennessee, where he was confronted by a Union force under 
General Thomas. On the 30th of November he defeated a part of 
Thomas' army, under General Schofield, at Franklin. Thomas 
withdrew to Nashville, and the Confederates were preparing to 
assault the city when he suddenly moved against Hood, defeated 
him and almost destroyed his army (December 15 and 16, 1864). 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 25. 

■j- Ibid., Chap. 16. J Ibid., Chap. 16. 

^Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chapter 11. 

II Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 18. ][ Ibid., Chap. 18. 

^* Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. 10, Chap, i. 



8i8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



On the i2tli of November Sherman's railroad and telegraph 
communications with the rear were broken, and the army stood 
dependent on its own resources and supplies." * With 60,000 men 
he marched through Georgia, meeting little resistance, and reaching 
Savannah a month after leaving Atlanta. On the 13th of Decem- 

j.!,u I jji^m ber he stormed Fort Mc- 
Allister, and on the 21st 
entered the city, which 
had been evacuated by the 
Confederates. Here he 
remained for a month. 

Meanwhile Grant had 
'^ started upon the cam- 
paign destined to result 
in the capture of the 
Confederate capital and 
the army defending it."f 
Crossing the Rapidan, 
'' on the 4th of May the 
army of the Potomac 
moved against Lee," J 
who, on the 5th, attacked 
Gra»t in a tract called 
the Wilderness. ^* More 
desperate fighting has 
not been witnessed on 
this Continent " § than 
the three days' battle that 
ensued. The slaughter 
in both armies was great. 
On the Confederate side 
General Longstreet was 
wounded, and '' his loss 
was a severe one to Ivce." |1 
From the Wilderness Lee fell back to Spottsylvania Court 
House, where the fighting was renewed, Grant telegraphing to 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 20. f Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 50. 

X Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 18. 

g Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 50. || Ibid., Chap. 50. 




GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 819 

Washington that he ''proposed to fight it out on this line if it 
took all summer." At the same time Sheridan was despatched 
*'to proceed against the enemy's cavalry,"* and to break Lee's 
railroad communications. Grant then moved to the left, to out- 
flank Lee, and on the ist of June attacked the Confederate army 
at Cold Harbor. He was driven back from their intrenchments, 
and by a second assault, made two days later, " no advantage what- 
ever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss." f He had, 
however, no dif&culty in securing reinforcements, while the Con- 
federates, whose resources were rapidly becoming exhausted, could 
no longer strengthen their forces. Crossing the James River, on 
the iSth of June he attacked Petersburg, but after four days' fight- 
ing was repulsed with heavy loss. He then intrenched himself 
before Petersburg and Richmond, w^here he remained during the 
rest of the year 1864. 

Sheridan's raid on the railroads in the rear of Richmond was 
effectively carried out. Two other subsidiary movements of the 
Federal forces were less successful. General Butler, advancing to- 
ward Richmond from Fortress Monroe, was defeated at Bermuda 
Hundred (May 7), and an expedition sent to the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, under Generals Sigel and Hunter, after a defeat at Newmarket 
(May 15) and a victory at Piedmont (June 5), was forced to retreat 
into West Virginia. This left Washington unprotected, and Lee 
despatched 20,000 men under General Jubal Early to strike at the 
national capital. 

Crossing the Potomac into Alaryland, Early defeated General 
Wallace at Monocacy (July 9) and advanced within gunshot of 
Washington. If he "had been but one day earlier he might have 
entered the capital before the arrival of reinforcements.";];: Find- 
ing Washington well defended, he retired into the Shenandoah 
Valley, pursued by General Wright. At Winchester Early turned 
on Wright, defeated him, and advanced through Maryland into 
Pennsylvania. After burning the town of Chambersburg (July 
30) he retreated into Virginia. 

In September Grant ordered Sheridan to the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, to drive off Early and "to destroy all the forage and subsist- 
ence the country afforded," ^ so as to prevent the possibility of 

* Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I. Chap. 18. f Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 55. J Ibid., Chap. 57. 
§ Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. I, Chap. 24. 

46 



820 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Confederate raids from that quarter. On the 19th of Septembei 
Sheridan routed the Confederates in " the battle of the Opequon, 
or Winchester, as it has been unofficially called,"* and "sent 
Barly's army whirling up the Shenandoah Valley." f On the 19th 
of October, Sheridan, having been temporarily called to Washing- 
ton, Barly attacked the Federal Forces at Cedar Creek, and drove 
them back. Sheridan, hurrying back to his post, was met by "the 
appalling spectacle of a panic-stricken army." J He rallied his 
men, led them forward, and turned defeat into a complete victory, 
Early's troops being routed and scattered. 

One of the lesser military movements of 1864 

was General Seymour's expedition to the coast of 

Florida, which ended disastrously at the battle of 

Olustee (February 20), where the Federal force 

was defeated. 

In July, Mobile, one of the most 
strongly fortified places of the Confeder- 
acy, was attacked by a fleet under Ad- 
miral Farragut and a land force com- 
manded b}' General Granger. On the 
5 th of August, Farragut ran into Mobile 
Bay, passing Forts Morgan and Gaines 
at its entrance, and capturing the Con- 
federate ram Tennessee. The forts soon 
afterward surrendered to General Gran- 
ger. 

One of the few Confederate ports 
that still remained open was that of Wil- 
mington, North Carolina, which was defended by Fort Fisher. In 
December, 1864, ^^ expedition under Admiral Porter and General 
Butler was despatched to reduce the fort, but after bombarding it 
they found it too strong to be carried by assault, and withdrew. 

In April, 1864, the Confederates had captured Plymouth, North 
Carolina, with the formidable iron ram Albemarle. On the night 
of October 27 the Albemarle was sunk by a torpedo attached to it 
by Lieutenant Gushing, who crept up in a small steamer manned 

* Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. II, Chap. i. 
tibid., Vol. II. Chap. i. 
J Ibid., Vol. II, Chap. 3. 




.-.Al. FARRAGUT. 



n 





SHERIDAN'S FAMOUS RIDE FROM WINCHESTER TO CEDAR CREEK, OCTOBER 19, 1864, WHERE HE 
RALLIED HIS PANIC-STRICKEN TROOPS AND TURNED DEFEAT INTO COMPLETE VICTORY. 

"And there, through the flush of the morning light, 
A steed as black as the steeds of night 
Was seen to pass, as with eagle flight, 
As if he knew the terrible need ; 
He stretched away with his utmost speed" — 

— Thomas Buchanan Read. 



(821) 



822 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

by a volunteer crew, only two members of which escaped. Ply- 
mouth surrendered four days later. 

In 1864 the depredations of Confederate privateers were brought 
to a close, after the infliction of great damage upon American ocean 
commerce during the four years of the war. In May, 1861, the Sum- 
ter, commanded by Captain Semmes, sailed from New Orleans, and 
captured and burned a number of merchantmen before being block- 
aded at Cadiz by the United States ship Tuscarora. Semmes then 
discharged his crew and sold his vessel. The Nashville left Charles- 
ton in October, 1861, and returned, running the blockade, with a 
valuable cargo of stores from England. She was destroj^ed in the 
Savannah River b}' the Federal ironclads, in March, 1863. 

Several of the Confederate cruisers were built in British ports. 
Such was the Florida, which sailed into Mobile Bay under British 
colors in August, 1862. In January, 1863, she ran through the block- 
ade, and cruised in the Atlantic for three months, taking fifteen 
American ships. She was then captured in .the harbor of Bahia, 
Brazil. The Georgia, built at Glasgow, was also captured in 1863. 
Most notorious and destructive of all was the Alabama, which sailed 
from Liverpool in 1862. Her builders had "made no special effort 
to dissemble her object and purpose," * and the American minister 
in England had protested against her being allowed to put to sea. 
She cruised for two years, capturing sixt3'-five merchant ships, and 
destroying property valued at ten millions of dollars. Her captain 
was Semmes, who had commanded the Sumter. She never entered 
a Confederate port, and was finalh' blockaded by the Kearsarge in 
the harbor of Cherbourg, France. Being ordered by the French 
government to leave Cherbourg, the Kearsarge attacked and sank 
her (June 19, 1864). 

In the summer of 1864 nominations were made for the Presi- 
dential election. During the first two years of the war the serious 
disasters suffered by the Union cause had created much dissatisfac- 
tion with the policy of the President ; but the later successes of the 
Federal armies had made it clear that ''nothing could prevent Lin- 
coln's renomination." f The Republican convention coupled to his 
name that of Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, as their candidate for 
Vice-President. The Democrats nominated General George B. 

* Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VI, Chap. 3. 
t Ibid., Vol. IX, Chap. 2, 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 823 

McClellan, of New Jersey, and George H. Pendleton, of Ohio. At 
the polls Lincoln and Johnson received a large majority. 

In October, 1864, Nevada, the thirty-sixth State, was admitted 
to the Union. 

The year 1865 opened with the capture of Fort Fisher by a 
second expedition, commanded by Admiral Porter and General 
Terry. The fort was bombarded and taken by storm on the 15th 
of January, and on the 22nd of February the Union forces occupied 
Wilmington — a port that had been "of immense importance to the 
Confederates, because it formed their principal inlet for blockade 
runners." * 

By this time "the Southern cause appeared hopeless to all 
intelligent and dispassionate Southern men."t The situation of 
Lee's army at Petersburg and Richmond was growing desperate 
under the pressure of Grant's superior strength. To oppose Sher- 
man's northward march from Savannah there were only "scattered 
and inconsiderable forces." J The Carolinas and Virginia were the 
only States that still remained to the Confederacy. 

It was in the Shenandoah Valle\' "that the first gleams of the 
final victory shone upon the Union arms." »^S Sheridan was again 
ordered there by Grant in February, 1865, to strike at Lee's com- 
munications. At Waynesboro he met a Confederate force under 
Early, which he attacked and routed — a defeat that "finished Early 
as a military leader." || After a successful raid Sheridan rejoined 
Grant before Petersburg in March. 

Sherman moved from Savannah at the end of January, and 
marched through South Carolina to Columbia, the State capital, 
which he entered on the 17th of February. General Joseph E. 
Johnston w^as ordered by the Confederate government to collect 
the forces scattered through North and South Carolina, and to 
endeavor to arrest Sherman's progress. This, however, he was 
unable to do. The Federal army entered Goldsboro, North Caro- 
lina, on the 2ist of March, after a severe engagement. Generals 
Schofield and Terry were bringing up reinforcements from the 

* Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 61. 

f Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chap. 12. 

J Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 22. 

^ Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. IX, Chap. 7. 

II Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History (Sheridan's Raid). 



824 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

coast, and their forces and those of Sherman "effected a junction 
in and about Goldsboro during the 22nd and 23rd of March." * 
Johnston had withdrawn his troops to Raleigh. 

On the 25th of Alarch, Lee attacked Grant's lines at Fort 
Steadman, but was repulsed, and a week later his position at Five 
Forks was assaulted and carried by Sheridan, Grant followed up' 
this success by an attack all along Lee's front, and the Confederate 
defenses were pierced at several points. Lee's situation was now 
hopeless, and he evacuated Petersburg and Richmond, which were 
at once occupied by the Federal army (April 3, 1865). 

Lee's retreating forces were closely pursued by Grant and 
Sheridan. "Let the thing be pressed," f the President telegraphed 
to Grant on the 6th of April, and on the same day, at Sailor's 
Creek, Sheridan gained "a victory which led to the annihilation- 
of one corps of Lee's army.";]^ The end of the war was evidently 
at hand, although it was generally expected that either Sherman or 
Grant "would have to fight one more bloody battle."^ In order 
"to shift from himself the responsibility of any further effusion of 
blood," II Grant sent a message to Lee, pointing out "the hopeless- 
ness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia," 1[ and suggesting a surrender. Lee, in reply, inquired what 
terms Grant would offer, and several notes passed between the com- 
manders. ]\Ieanwhile Sheridan had moved around Lee's army, and 
on the morning of April 9 attacked it from the rear, near Appomat- 
tox Court House. A white flag was displayed by the Confederate 
general, who requested a suspension of hostilities that he might 
have an interview with Grant. At that interview, which took place 
in the house of a Mr. McLean, it was arranged that Lee's soldiers 
" should lay down their arms, not to take them up again unless ex- 
changed,"** and that they should " be allowed to return to their 
homes." ft Grant then telegraphed to the Secretary of War, at 
Washington, " General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern 
Virginia this afternoon on terms proposed by myself." JJ 

The surrender of Lee's army practically closed the war. John- 

* Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 23. 

t Sheridan's Memoirs, Vol. II, Chap. 8. X Ibid., Vol. II, Chap. 7. 

^ Sherman's Memoirs, Chap. 23. 

II Grant's Memoirs, Chap. 66. ^ Ibid., Chap. 66. 

** Ibid., Chap. 67. ft Ibid., Chap. 67. H Ibid.. Chap. 6/. 




(825) 



826 



HISTORY OK THE UNITED STATES. 



ston had just evacuated Raleigh, and was retteating before Sherman, 
when he heard the news of Appomattox. He thereupon sent a 
message to Sherman proposing "to make a suspension of active 
operations." * Before the negotiations were concluded the country 
was shocked by the assassination of President Lincoln. 

The 14th of April "was a day of deep and tranquil happiness 
throughout the United States." f The President, relieved of the 
terrible burden of the war, that evening attended Ford's theater in 
Washington. While there he was shot by Wilkes Booth, an actor, 
and "at twenty-two minutes after seven o'clock on the morning 
of April 15 "J he expired. On the same morning Mr. Seward was 
wounded by aiiother assassin who broke into his 
house. A few days later Booth was shot in a barn 
in Maryland where he had been hiding. 

Johnston's surrender was signed on the 26th 
of April, and no Confederate army remained in 
the field except inconsiderable forces beyond the 
Mississippi. Jefferson Davis, endeavoring to 
escape in that direction, was captured at Irwins- 
ville, Georgia, on the loth of May, and sent as a 
prisoner to Fortress Monroe. On the 26th of 
May the last of the Confederate forces in the 
southwest surrendered, and the civil war was 
over. 

Three hours after the death of Lincoln " the 
oath of office as President of the United States 
was administered to Andrew Johnson by Chief 
Justice Chase." »^ Born in North Carolina of 
humble parentage, and unable to read and write until after his 
marriage, Johnson had risen to be United States Senator from 
Tennessee (i860) and military governor of the State (1862) before 
his election to the Vice-Presidency in 1S64. His administration 
was at once confronted with several important questions. 

On the 7th of April, 1865, Mr. Adams, the American minister 
at London, presented to the British government a claim for repara- 

* Johnston's Narrative of Military Operations, Chap. 12. 
f Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. X, Chap. 14. 
J Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II, Chap. i. 
gibid., Vol. II, Chap. I, 




ANDHEV/ JOHNSON, 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 827 

tion for the "damages done to the commerce of the United States 
by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers equipped in En- 
gland. The diplomatic dispute that ensued was not settled for 
some years. 

On the I St of February Congress framed an amendment to the 
Constitution declaring that slavery should not exist within the 
United States. During 1865 this, the thirteenth amendment to 
the Constitution, was ratified by all the States then in the Union. 

The war had left a debt of almost two and three-quarter 
billions of dollars. To meet the interest heavy import duties and 
internal revenue taxes had been imposed. The country proved its 
ability to sustain the burden without difficulty, and, to increase 
confidence. Congress, in December, 1865, formally resolved that 
*' the public debt ought and must be paid, principal and interest." 

On the question of reconstruction, or the reorganization of the 
seceded States, serious differences arose between President John- 
son and Congress. The former maintained, in opposition to the 
views of Congress, that no State could of its own act leave the 
Union, and that therefore the Confederate States need not and 
could not be readmitted. 

An international question with France arose out of that coun- 
try's attempt, during the civil war, to establish an empire in Mex- 
ico under the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. President Lincoln 
had protested against this European interference, and " no one 
will question the wisdom of the attitude assumed and consistently 
maintained " * by him and Secretary Seward. It was impossible to 
do more than protest while the country's entire energies were oc- 
cupied in the prosecution of the war. On its conclusion the gov- 
ernment demanded of Napoleon III. that his troops, which had 
placed Maximilian on the throne, should be withdrawn from Mex- 
ico. The French emperor acceded to the demand, with the result 
that Maximilian was dethroned b}^ the Mexican republicans and 
shot (June 19, 1867). 

In July, 1866, repeated attempts to lay a telegraph cable from 
Europe to America reached a successful conclusion. The enterprise 
was undertaken in 1857, niainly through the efforts of Cyrus W. 
Field, of New York, who persevered with his project in spite of 
four failures, which cost about six millions of dollars. The cable 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. VH, Chap. 14. 



828 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




THE GREAT EASTERN LANDING IN TRINITY BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND, WITH THE END OF THE FIRST OCEAN CABLE. 

ran from Valencia, in Ireland, to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, a 
distance of 1,700 miles. 

In March, 1867, Secretary Seward negotiated a treaty with 
Russia, whereby the latter agreed to sell Alaska to the United 
States for the sum of seven million dollars. This great northern 
territory, with an area of 577,000 square miles, was then almost 
unknown and thought to be of very little value, and '' it required 
all Seward's skill and influence to accomplish the ratification of the 
Alaska purchase." * The Senate accepted it, however, on the 9th 
of April, 1867. 

The disagreement between President Johnson and Congress 
was becoming more and more marked. He vetoed a bill establish- 
ing a military government in some of the Southern States, a bill 
admitting Nebraska to the Union, and the Reconstruction Bill, 
providing for the reorganization of the seceded States. All of these 
measures, however, were passed over his veto by a two-thirds vote, 
and in January, 1868, the House of Representatives ordered his 
impeachment. On being tried before the Senate, the President 
was acquitted, though only one vote was lacking of the two-thirds 
vote necessary for his conviction (May 23, 1868). 

The settlement of affairs in the South made steady progress. 

*Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Vol. I, Chap. 13. 



Imaging the Atlantic Cable. 



Come, listen to my song, it is no silly fable, 

'Tis all about the mighty cord they call the Atlantic Cable. 

Bold Cyrus Field, said he, " I have a pretty notion 
That I could run a telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean." 

And all the people laughed and said they'd like to see him do it ; 
He might get "half seas over," but never would go through it. 

To carry out his foolish jDlan he never would be able ; 

He might as well go hang himself with his Atlantic Cable. 

But Cyrus was a valiant man, a fellow of decision, 

And heeded not their careless words, their laughter and derision. 

Twice did his bravest efforts fail, yet his mind was stable ; 

He wasn't the man to break his heart because he broke his cable. 

" Once more, my gallant boys," said he ; " three times " — you know the fable. 
'' I'll make it thirty," muttered he, " but what I'll lay the cable." 

Hurrah ! hurrah ! again hurrah ! what means this great commotion ? 
Hurrah ! hurrah ! The cable's laid across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Loud ring the bells, for flashing through ten thousand leagues of Avater, 
Old Mother England's benison salutes her eldest daughter. 

O'er all the land the tidings spread, and soon, in every nation. 
They'll hear about the cable with profoundest admiration. 

Long liv^e the gallant souls who helped our noble Cyrus; 
And may their courage, faith, and zeal with emulation tire us. 

And may we honor evermore the manly, bold, and stable, 

And tell our sons, to make them brave, how Cvrus laid the cable. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



829 



In May, 1867, Jefferson Davis, who had been imprisoned at Fortress 
Monroe for two years, was released on bail. He was never brought 
to trial. In September the President issued a proclamation of 
" amnesty to all engaged in the Rebellion," with a few exceptions. 
In June, 1868, the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, 
and North and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union. 

An Indian war, that had lasted for four years in Colorado and 
the Indian Territory, was terminated in the fall of 1868 by the 
battle of the Wacheta, in which the chief Black Kettle was de- 
feated and killed by General Custer's cavalry. 

As the Presidential election of 1868 approached, the Republi- 
can party placed in nomination General Ulysses 
S. Grant, the hero of the civil war, with Schuyler 
Colfax, of Indiana, as their candidate for Vice- 
President. The Democrats selected Horatio 
Seymour, who, as Governor of New York during 
the war, " had been a great favorite of the peace 
party,"* and Frank P. Blair, of Missouri. At 
the election in November Grant was successful 
by a large majority, Seymour carrying New York 
and only five other States. 

General Grant, who thus became the eigh- 
teenth President of the United States, was born 
at Point Pleasant, Ohio, in 1822. He was edu- 
cated at West Point, entered the army, and 
served with credit as a subordinate officer under 
General Scott in Mexico. After the Mexican 
war he retired into civil life, but on President 
Lincoln's call for troops he at once volunteered for service. 

Two months after Grant's inauguration the first transconti- 
nental railroad was completed. This great enterprise, which had 
been six years in progress, was undertaken partly as a government 
work, in order to cement the distant Pacific coast to the rest of 
the Union. The line from the Missouri to San Francisco, nearly 
eighteen hundred miles in length, w^as built by two companies, the 
Union Pacific working westward, the Central Pacific eastward. 
The two met near Salt Lake, Utah, where the last spike was 
driven on the loth of May, 1869. 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Cong;ress, Vol. II, Chap. i6. 




PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



830 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

To insure the civil status of the emancipated negroes, the 
fifteenth amendment to the Constitution was framed by Congress 
in February, 1869, and was ratified by the States during the fol- 
lowing twelve months. It provided that the suffrage should not be 
restricted "on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude." 

In May, 1871, was signed the treaty of Washington, whereby 
the British government agreedv to refer the claims arising from 
the Alabama affair to a tribunal of arbitration, whose settlement 
should be accepted as final. The tribunal was to consist of five 
members, named respectively by the President of the United 
States, the Queen of England, the President of Switzerland, the 
King of Italy, and the Emperor of Brazil. The court thus con- 
stituted met at Geneva in December, 187 1, and after sitting for 
nine months it decided that Great Britain should pay to the 
United States $15,500,000 in gold. That sum was thereupon paid 
by the British government. 

Another international question with England was settled by 
arbitration in 1872. The island of San Juan, lying between Van- 
couver's Island and the mainland, was claimed both by Great 
Britain and by the United States. On being referred by mutual 
agreement to the Emperor of Germany, the dispute was decided 
in favor of the United States. 

In the summer of 1872 President Grant was renominated by 
the Republicans, with Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, as a can- 
didate for the Vice-Presidency. A small section of the party, dis- 
satisfied with Grant's administration, took the name of Liberal 
Republicans, and placed in nomination Horace Greeley, the cele- 
brated founder of the New York Tribune, and Gratz Brown, of 
Missouri. The Democratic convention indorsed the Liberal can- 
didates, but at the election in November Grant and Wilson were 
successful by a considerable majority. 

Shortly before the election the city of Chicago was swept by 
a terrible conflagration, which destroyed property valued at 
$200,000,000, and left 100,000 people homeless (October 4 to 6, 
1872). A little more than a year later there was a fire in Boston, 
second only to that of Chicago in its destructiveness. It burned 
over sixty acres of buildings, and caused a loss of $80,000,000, 
November 9 and 10, 1873. 



fm 



v^rm 



mmmm 










MASSACRE OF GENERAL CUSTER AND COMMAND ON THE LITTLE BIG HORN RIVER, JUNE 25, 1876 BV THE SIOUX 

INDIANS UNDER SITTING RULL. (See Next Page.) 



832 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The commercial expansion that followed the civil war culmi- 
nated in a period of over-speculation, and this, in the fall of 1873, 
led to a disastrous financial panic. Business throughout the 
country was prostrated by widespread bankruptcy, and great in- 
dustrial distress resulted. Four years passed before the effects of 
the crash disappeared. 

Throughout Grant's second term there were more or less seri- 
ous Indian troubles in the West. In 1872, the Modocs, occupying 
a reservation in California, went on the warpath, and murdered 
General Canby and Dr. Thomas, the government commissioners 
sent to confer with them. iVfter a tedious campaign the rising 
was put down by United States troops, and the chief, Captain Jack, 
was hanged for the murder of the commissioners. The next out- 
break was among the Sioux, in the Black Hills, on the border of 
Dakota and Wyoming. Gold had been discovered in their reser- 
vation, and the government had not been able to keep out the 
rush of gold-seekers. The Sioux, indignant at the invasion, rose 
in rebellion, and on June 25, 1876, they surrounded a body of 261 
troopers, under General Custer, on the Little Big Horn River, and 
killed them. After this success Sitting Bull, the leader of the 
hostiles, fled into Canadian territor3^ 

On the loth of May, 1876, the Centennial Exposition in Fair- 
mount Park, Philadelphia, w^as opened by President Grant. For 
six 3'ears preparations had been in progress, the exhibition being 
designed to commemorate the centennial of American Independ- 
ence, and illustrate the Nation's progress during the first hundred 
years of existence. It was the largest display of the kind that 
had been held up to that time, the covered space being sixty acres, 
and the cost of the buildings more than $4,000,000. It remained 
open for four months, the number of visitors being over ten 
millions, and the receipts for admission nearly $4,000,000. There 
were more than thirty thousand exhibitors, and thirt3^-three for- 
eign countries were represented. 

Colorado, the thirty-eighth State, was admitted to the Union 
on the ist of August, 1876. 

In the Presidential conventions of that year, the Republicans 
nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, 
of New York ; the Democrats, Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, 
and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The contest was very 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



S33 



close, and when Congress came to count the vote it was found 
that several States had sent conflicting certificates. To settle the 
dispute, which for a time caused great excitement, Congress ap- 
pointed an Electoral Commission of fifteen members — five Sena- 
tors, five Representatives, and five Judges of the Supreme Court. 
By a strict party vote, the Com.mission declared that Rutherford 
B. Hayes was elected to the Presidency. 

The administration of President Hayes opened with the with- 
drawal from Louisiana and South Carolina of the Federal troops 
stationed there since the conclusion of the war, the President hav- 
ing declared in his inaugural address that the self-government of 
the Southern States should be completely re- 
stored. 

The greatest strikes ever known in America 
occurred in the summer of 1877. They were 
caused by a general reduction in the wages of 
railroad employees, and began on the Baltimore 
and Ohio lines, whence they spread to the men 
on other railroad systems and to the coal miners 
of Pennsylvania. There were serious riots at 
several points, and the running of trains was 
temporarily stopped throughout a great part of 
the country. The rioters were finally overpowered 
by State and Federal troops, after the destruction 
of much property and the loss of many lives. 

Two notable financial events took place 
during Mr. Hayes' Presidency. Congress having 
passed a bill to make the silver dollar a legal 
tender for all debts, unless otherwise stipulated by contract, the 
President vetoed the measure, February 28, 1878. On the same 
day it was passed over his veto by a two-thirds majority ot both 
houses. 

Specie payments were resumed by the government, after seven- 
teen years' suspension, on the first day of 1879. During the war 
it was forced to make payments in currency, which became so 
much depreciated that in 1864 a dollar in gold was worth $2.85 in 
paper. The premium on gold became small at the end of the war, 
and was now entirely extinguished. 

The immigration of Chinese laborers to the Pacific coast had 




•SUTHEHFORD B. HAYES 



834 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

become so serious a grievance to the American labor of that sec- 
tion, that a treaty was negotiated with the Pekin government, 
whereby restrictions were placed upon the importation of China- 
men to this country. The treaty, secured through the diplomacy 
of Mr. Burlingame, the American minister to China, was ratified 
by the Senate on the i6th of July, 1878. 

In that summer there was a destructive outbreak of yellow 
fever in the cities and villages along the lower Mississippi. The 
total number of deaths caused by the epidemic was nearly fourteen 
thousand, New Orleans and Memphis suffering most severely. Lib- 
eral money contributions and other assistances were received from 
all parts of the country and distributed by the Howard Association. 

The treaty of Washington, negotiated in 1871 for the settle- 
ment of the Alabama question, also provided for a Fishery Com- 
mission, to adjust the disputes that had arisen between the British 
and American governments with reference to the Canadian fisher- 
ies. The commission met at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and on the 23rd 
of November, 1878, decided that the United States should pay Great 
Britain $5,500,000 for infringements of the latter's rights. 

As the time approached for the selection of candidates for the 
Presidential election of 1880, the Republicans were mainly divided 
between Ex-President Grant, who had just returned from a tour 
around the world, and Senator Blaine of Maine. The proposal to 
nominate Grant was in contravention of the tradition against third 
terms in the Presidency, and after his eight years in office *' Grant 
himself had discountenanced the movement." * In the convention 
it was narrowly defeated by a combination of the opposition forces, 
which nominated James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and Chester A. Ar- 
thur, of New York. The Democratic candidates were General Win- 
field S. Hancock, of Pennsylvania, and William H. English, of 
Indiana. The popular vote was very close, but the Republicans 
secured a majority of fifty-nine in the electoral college. 

General Garfield, who thus became the twentieth President of 
the United States, was born in Ohio in 1831, and brought up in 
very humble circumstances. He worked his way through college, 
served with distinction in the war, and was a member of Congress 
from 1863 up to the time of his election to the Presidency. His 
tenancy of that office was brief. Scarcely four months after his 

* Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., Chap. 29. 




INAUGU 



RATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD ON THE EAST PORTICO OF THE WHITE HOUSE, MARCH 4, 1881. 



47 



(83?) 



836 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



inauguration lie was shot by a worthless char- 
acter named Charles J. Guiteau, in the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad station at Washing- 
ton, July 2, 1881. He lingered for eleven weeks 
before his death, which occurred at Klberon, near 
Long Branch, New Jersey, on the 19th of Sep- 
tember. 

On the following day Vice-President Arthur 
took the oath of office. He had been a well- 
known lawyer and politician in New York, where 
he had served as Collector of the Port. His char- 
acter and . abilities were but little known to the 
nation before his unexpected elevation to the 
chief magistracy. 

President Arthur's administration was an 
uneventful one. It was marked by a continued 
expansion of the country's material prosperity, 
and by some notable triumphs of the American inventive faculty. 
The telephone was perfected by Professor Alexander Graham Bell, 
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
and a similar instrument on a different principle 
was produced by Thomas A. Edison, who also in- 
vented the phonograph. 

On the 24th of May, 1883, the great bridge 
spanning the Hast River, and connecting the 
cities of New York and Brooklyn, was opened. 
The largest structure of its kind in the world, 
it was designed by John A. Roebling, and had 
been thirteen years in building, at a cost of fifteen 
million dollars. 

Two notable centenaries of Revolutionary 
events were celebrated during Arthur's Presi- 
dency. One was that of the surrender of Corn- 
wallis at Yorktown, which was attended by a 
great gathering of officials, soldiers, citizens and 
foreigners (October 19, 1881). The other celebra- 
tion was in New York, and commemorated the evacuation of the 
city by King George III.'s troops (November 26, 1883). A bronze 
statue of Washington was unveiled in Wall Street on that occasion. 




CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 







I 







GARFIELD MONUMENT. 




INTERIOR GARFIELD MONUMENT. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^37 



The Revolutionary centennials also led to the completion of 
the great Washington Monument at the national capital, which, 
commenced fifty years before, had been allowed to languish for 
lack of funds. It was completed and dedicated on the 21st of 
February, 1885. 

To succeed President Arthur the Republicans placed in nom- 
ination, in the summer of 1884, James G. Blaine, of ]\Iaine, who 
had been Secretary of State under Garfield, with John A. Logan, 
of Illinois, as their candidate for Vice-President. The Democrats 
nominated Grover Cleveland, of New York, and Thomas A. Hen- 
dricks, of Indiana, and for the first time since the election of 
Buchanan in 1856 they were successful at the 
polls. Mr. Cleveland's political rise had been re- 
markably rapid. Born at Caldwell, New Jerse}-, 
in 1837, ^^ practiced law at Buffalo until elected 
sheriff of Brie County. In 1881 he became 
mayor of Buffalo, and a year later was elected 
Governor of New York by a phenomenally large 
majority, which led to his nomination for the 
Presidency, 

President Cleveland's administration, like 
that of his predecessor, was a period of compara- 
tively uneventful prosperit}'. The Democrats 
had carried the country upon a platform which 
demanded the reform and reduction of the tariff 
upon imports. The chief legislative event of 
the administration was the effort of the Demo- 
crats in Congress to effect this reduction of 
duties by a measure known as the Mills bill, from the name of 
its chief author. Congressman Mills, of Texas. The bill was 
passed by the House of Representatives (July 21, 1888), but 
failed in the Senate, where there was a Republican majority. 

An attempt was made to bring to an end the still unsettled 
questions of the Canadian fisheries by a treaty with Great Britain, 
negotiated at Washington in February, 1888. The treaty was, 
however, rejected by the Senate. A bill to effect the more complete 
exclusion of Chinese immigrants was passed in the same year. 

During Cleveland's Presidency two of the great Federal gener- 
als of the civil war passed away — Grant and Sheridan. Ex- 




GROVER CLEVELAND. 



838 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



President Grant died at Mount McGregor, New York, after a long 
and painful struggle with a cancerous disease, July 23d, 1885. Gen- 
eral Sheridan, who was commander-in-chief of the United States 
Army, died at Nonquit, Massachusetts, August 5, 1888. Another 
death was that of Vice-President Hendricks, on the 25th of Novem- 
ber, 1885, which left the Vice-Presidential office vacant. 

In the summer of 1888 Mr. Cleveland was renominated by the 
Democrats, who named Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, for the Vice- 
Presidenc3^ The Republican candidates were General Benjamin 
Harrison, of Indiana, and Levi P. Morton, of New York. An un- 
pleasant incident of the canvass was the disclosure, just before the 

election, of the fact that Lord Sackville, the 
British minister at Washington, had been en- 
trapped into an expression of partisanship. 
For this breach of diplomatic rules his recall 
was demanded (October 30, 1888). The 
election resulted in the victory of the Repub- 
lican candidates. 

Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third 
President of the United States, was a grand- 
son of William Henry Harrison, the ninth 
President. Born at North Bend, Ohio, in 
1833, he distinguished himself as one of 
Sherman's officers in Georgia, became a suc- 
cessful lawyer in Indianapolis, and represent- 
ed Indiana in the United States Senate from 
1881 to 1887. 

The iirst year of President Harrison's 
administration was rendered remarkable by the admission to the 
Union of six new States — North and South Dakota, Montana and 
AVashington (November, 1889), and Idaho and Wyoming (July, 
1890). The total area of these commonwealths was more than 
600,000 square miles — half as large again as that of the thirteen 
original colonies, and completing an unbroken line of States from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

The tariff question again occupied the attention of Congress 
during 1890. The Republicans having a majority in both branches, 
a bill, known as the McKinley bill, was passed by the House of 
Representatives (May 21) and by the Senate (September 30), and 




BENJAMIN HARRISON. 



J 

■xi 

:l 
T 




Si 



■■ 



9m 

iiii 



I III 1 Iff 



iiiiiiiiiiiil 

(839\ 



840 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

signed by the President (October i), to increase tbe duties on a 
large number of manufactured articles, including especially tin 
plate, woolen goods, and articles of apparel. The duty on sugar 
was at the same time removed. The Fifty-first Congress was also 
notable for the strong resistance offered by the minority to the 
rulings of the Speaker, Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, who, his oppo-' 
nents claimed, violated parliamentary law and traditions by count- 
ing a quorum from members who declined to vote. 

The State Department, to which President Harrison called 
Mr. Blaine as Secretary, has had three troublesome international 
questions to deal with during the past two years. One, the long 
standing question of the Behring Sea seal fisheries, the American 
and British governments have now agreed to refer to arbitrators, 
meanwhile continuing a moihis Vivendi that restricts poaching. 

A second arose from the lynching (March 14, 1891) of eleven 
Italians, who had been thrown into jail at New Orleans on a charge 
of murdering a police ofi&cial. As some of the victims were Italian 
citizens, the government of that country demanded reparation. 
The Federal authorities being, under the Constitution, unable to 
interfere in a matter that was within the sole jurisdiction of the 
State of Louisiana, the Italian minister was hastily withdrawn 
from Washing'ton (March 31). The matter was recently settled by 
the voting of an imdemnity of $25,000 by Congress. 

The last and most serious complication was with Chili. A civil 
war broke out in that republic in January, 1891, between the dicta- 
tor Balmaceda, and the Congressional party, in which the latter 
was ultimately successful. The United States men-of-war, sent to 
the Chilian coast to protect American property, became very un- 
popular with the victorious party, on account of their supposed 
friendliness to Balmaceda, and because the Itata, a Congressional 
transport, had been pursued and captured on a charge of infringing 
the neutrality of the United States. This resentment culminated 
in the mobbing, on the streets of Valparaiso, of some seamen be- 
longing to the steamer Baltimore, of whom two were killed and sev- 
eral wounded. The government demanded an apology and repara- 
tion (October 26, 1891). Unsatisfactory and dilatory replies were 
received until on the 23rd of January, 1892, an ultimatum was pre- 
sented to the Chilian government, demanding that it should im- 
niediately apologize for the outrage and withdraw an insulting cir- 




Q 
CQ 

H 

D 

O 

1 — ( 

o 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 841 

cular that had been issued by Senor Matta, its foreign secretary. 
The apparent imminence of war created considerable excitement, 
but the Chilian government acceded to the ultimatum, and on Jan- 
uary 28 the President informed Congress that a satisfactory reply 
had been received, thus terminating the difficulty. 

The Presidential election of 1892 was approaching. The Re- 
publicans renominated Benjamin Harrison, naming Whitelaw Reid 
for the Vice-Presidency. The Democrats once more placed in nomi- 
nation Grover Cleveland, with Adlai Stevenson, of Illinois, for Vice- 
President. The Democratic ticket was successful, and Grover 
Cleveland has the unique distinction of having served two terms as 
Democratic President, with, however, one intervening term between 
the two. 

Among the principal events of President Cleveland's second 
term we must note the World's Fair at Chicago to celebrate the 
four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Col- 
umbus, the grounds being dedicated October 12, 1892, but the 
exposition proper occurring in 1893, Congress having liberally 
assisted in the movement and all the prominent nations of the world 
contributing, by erecting buildings and sending exhibits. The 
exposition was a very great success, and served to make known to 
the nations of the world the vast resources of our country. It also 
had a great educational value to Americans, since we could compare 
our products, our machines, our methods of doing business with 
those of other countries. 

In internal affairs, Mr. Cleveland's second administration opened 
in a season of financial distress and gloom. The panic of 1893 
will long live in history as one of the worst that the United States 
has ever experienced. 

In August, 1893, a special session of Congress was called to 
take some action in regard to financial matters. As a result, the 
Sherman Purchase Act of 1890, which was itself in the nature of 
a compromise between the free coinage of silver and its disuse, was 
repealed, and the United States took the position so long maintained 
by Kngland, France and Germany, and refused to longer coin silver, 
except for subsidiary purposes. As the tariff was one of the 
issues in 1892, we are not surprised that as soon as the Democratic 
party found itself in power it proceeded to enact a new tariff 



842 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

measure. This was known as the Wilson Bill. It was introduced 
in December, 1893, but it did not become a law until August 25, 
1894. 

In external affairs, we have to notice the sudden and, for the 
time being-, really alarming crisis between our country and Great 
Britain in the fall of 1895, over the dispute between Kngland and 
Venezuela as to the boundary between that country and the British 
possessions. As that involved the Monroe Doctrine, to the main- 
tenance of which our country is thoroughly committed, we were 
in imminent danger of war with Great Britain. Fortunately, 
the danger was realized, and Great Britain receded from her 
extreme claims. We have also to notice the breaking out of the 
Cuban insurrection in 1895, which was destined to involve our 
country in war. 

Owing to financial legislation, the great issue between the two 
parties in 1896 was the free and unlimited coinage of silver. The 
Democrats, choosing for their standard bearers W. J. Bryan, of 
Nebraska, and Arthur P. Sewall, of Maine, took their stand on a 
platform demanding such coinage. The Republicans put in nomi- 
nation William McKinley, of Ohio, and Garrett A. Hobart, of New 
Jersey, and affirmed that gold must be the sole standard of value. 
The campaign was waged with great earnestness along these lines, 
and resulted in the return of the Republican nominees. 

The events of President McKinley 's administration were so 
important and far-reaching in their results, marking apparently 
the beginning of a new era in our history, and advanced the United 
States so materially in the estimation of the w^orld at large, that 
we reserve them for a separate chapter. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN. 




HE victories of peace far outweigh those of 
war, though many of the forward move- 
ments of nations and races look back to 
some war as the time when they took 
'^form, attracted public attention, and from 
which they are said to date. But causes pre- 
{" M i | Bd j[.[ i.'^MMMil cede effects, and every advance won in the life 

of a nation has been preceded by a long train 
of events; as the century plant bursts into 
a profusion of blossoms only after years of 
slow growth. In national affairs it is as if 
developments went forward silently, slowly, 
but none the less surely under the sweet influence 
of peace until the fullness of time had arrived, 
and then the tension between the new, though unrecognized, state 
of affairs and the old official order of things became too strong to 
be endured, and the storm of w^ar bursts, and the clash comes, and 
on the issues of the resulting conflict depends much of weal or 
woe to the people directly involved, and to mankind in general. 
The truth of this observation is apparent when we consider any of 
the great wars of the past. The Revolution was but the outcome 
of a long train of causes. There was involved in it not simply 
the welfare of the nation then springing into existence, but the 
deeper question of Anglo-Saxon liberty. It is not too much to say 
that had the Colonies failed in their efforts, constitutional liberty, 
the rights of the people as against the divine rights of kings and 
privileged classes, the w^retched inheritance of the past, under which 
many people otherwise well advanced still labor, would have 
received a great check. 

It is well to bear these observations in mind when we reflect 
on the war between our country and Spain. What were the causes 



(843) 



844 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



leading to it? What are the national traits of character that have 
rendered Spain's colonial policy a byword and a reproach among 
the nations of the earth, and finally justified the United States, 
in the eyes of the world at large, in interfering in the case of her 
colony lying at our Southern door; and what are to be the results 
of that war, not simply to Spain and our country, but to mankind 
in general ? To rightly answer these questions we must glance at 
the history of Spain, see what elements have mingled to form the 
Spanish people, what influences have molded Spanish character. 

All, of course, are familiar with the geographical position and 
outline of the Spanish Peninsula. It may not be so well-known 
that in area it is almost exactly two-thirds that of our State of 
Texas. Long before the certain light of history, 
falls upon the Mediterranean Basin, the fame of 
Spain as a country rich in commerce had penetrated 
into Western Asia. The Tarshish of the Bible 
was probably a Spanish town. The Phoenicians, 
the daring merchant explorers of antiquity, sailed 
along its coasts, and established their trading 
depots that became centers of enlightenment to 
the Celt-iberian tribes that thronged the peninsula. 
When Carthage w^as the commercial metropolis of 
the ancient world, she sent her troops and her ships 
to more completely subjugate the country. Two 
centuries before the Star of Bethlehem shone, the 
larger part of what is now Spain was under her 
control. There the great Hannibal laid the secure 
foundation of his fame and departed thence to Rome and final 
defeat. 

Then came the Roman Conquest. For two centuries, the 
fighting and amalgamating process of Rome went forward. At the 
end of that extended period of time Spain was a Roman province. 
The Celt-iberians and Phoenicians were fused into one mass; all 
were alike subjects of Rome. The centuries of Roman possession 
are amongst the most prosperous and peaceful periods in the troubled 
history of Spain. Its population is estimated to have been nearly 
twice what it is at present. It was one of the richest provinces 
of that world-embracing empire. There were mines of precious 
metals in the mountains. The country was dotted with cities and 




WILLIAM MCKINLEY, 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 845 

towns. The wines, silk, and olives of the south, the flocks and 
herds of the center, the grains of the north contributed to the 
necessities, comforts and business of Rome. 

But the time finally came w^hen Rome entered on its decline. 
Very early in the fifth century of our era there poured through the 
rocky passes of the Pyrenees a blighting host of barbarian invad 
ers. They were but partially civilized Teutonic tribes, known in 
history as the Vandals, Suevi, etc. Cut off from assistance from 
Rome, the inhabitants could offer no effectual resistance, and, almost 
unopposed, the invaders swept the country with the besom of 
destruction from the mountain barrier on the north to the Pillars 
of" Hercules on the south. A few years later a still more mighty 
host of still more redoubtable warriors came through the self-same 
passes in the Pyrenees, and after some years of conquest, built 
up the Gothic kingdom of Spain, that for three centuries held 
sway in the peninsula. Thus was introduced another and most 
important ethnical element, the possession of which has given 
rise to the Spaniard of to-day, with his contradictory traits of 
character. Thus was introduced also one of the religious elements 
which has resulted in making Spain noted for religious bigotry. 
One of the most furious conflicts of early Christianity was the 
Arian controversy, and the Goths were all followers of Arius. „ 

It was some centuries before this heresy w^as rooted out, and in the 
meantime, the fires of persecution burned, and thus it came to pass 
that the Spaniards were early trained in the necessity of being 
orthodox. 

And now w^e turn to the introduction of still another people 
into the peninsula, the records of whose conquest and rule read 
like an extract from a work of fiction. This refers to the Moham- 
medan or Moorish conquest of Spain. After some years of longing 
waiting the Moorish hosts suddenly crossed the narrow strait 
of Gibraltar, and in a surprisingly short space of time overrun 
the larger portion of what is now Spain. Subsequently, the 
Gothic kings reclaimed the northern portion, but for eight long 
centuries the fairest part of the peninsula formed the Mohammedan 
Khalifat of Cordova. Many pages would be required to properly 
speak of this conquest. We can only remark that Arabian Spain 
was the most enlightened and liberal country in Kurope. Beneath 
the banner of the prophet, a genial toleration was accorded to all 



846 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

religions. Arts and sciences flourished. To this day the mournful 
ruins of the Alhambra delight the eye and inform the mind of 
the traveller. Their pieces of silver money called dirhems, found 
scattered all over Kurope, attest the extensive sweep of their com- 
merce. They were the patrons of literature, and, as early as the 
tenth century of our era, persons having a taste for learning and 
the pleasing amenities of life found their way into Spain. Such 
a people during the long centuries of their sojourn in Spain, left 
a lasting impression on the country. Though they were subse- 
quently expelled, yet the inevitable result of a long intermixture of 
races was achieved, and Moorish blood still flows in the veins of 
the inhabitants of Leon, Aragon, and especially Granada. 

We have now passed in review the principal ethnical elements 
which compose the Spanish nation. We must note they were drawn 
from widely separated parts of the earth. Kach stock was master 
in the peninsula for some centuries of time. There was a long period 
of intermixture. Though the noble families of Spain may pride 
themselves on the purity of their descent, and while all Spain pre- 
sents a people possessing substantial unity, yet different provinces 
show differeuv^es in type and speech, presenting the characteristics 
of the different stocks that met in conflict. These ethnical elements 
should have given rise to a powerful, enterprising and conquering 
people; and in fact, such was the characteristics of the Spanish 
people three and four centuries ago. 

The Moorish conquest occurred in the eighth century. The 
next eight centuries was a long drawn out contest between the 
Moors and descendants of the old Gothic power. Amongst the 
mountains of Northern Spain, the Goths retained a foothold, and 
from thenee they waged a war of reconquest. Century by century 
slow advance was made. But it was not a united people that 
contended against the Moors. There were several small kingdoms, 
such as Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon. These petty states 
were at war with each other quite as often as with the Moors. 

The origin of some traits of Spanish character may now be 
discovered. During the long centuries of conflict, the Gothic 
Spaniards, deprived of the best portion of Spain, longed for the 
wealth and comforts abounding in the Moorish dommions. The 
easiest, the only way to secure possession of the same, was by 
means of the sword. And so all Spain became thoroughly imbued 




(lOo) 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 847 

with the idea that the way to wealth was to find some one who 
had wealth and take it from him by force. Consequently, as a 
recent writer observes: ' ' In every conquest and in every colony for 
centuries, this spirit of spoliation has been the dominant impulse 
of the Spanish race. They are unable to conceive of any advan- 
tage to be gained from territorial acquisition, except the riches 
that could be actually seized and carried away by the strong hand 
from a conquered or subject race. Spain has gone into every land 
on which she has set foot as her barons of olden times issued 
from their mountain fastnesses into the domain of the Saracen to 
ravage, plunder, and despoil." 

Other results are discernible. While not very extensive in area, 
still the provinces of Spain are filled by people differing widely in 
ethnical character. The territory along the Pyrenees has ever 
been the home of the Basques, probably descendants of the Iber- 
ians. But the interests of the Basque provinces are not in all 
respects identical with those of the rest of Spain. They enjoy 
certain privileges not given to other provinces. The eastern and 
soq^jtherri provinces of Spain are settled with people — Spaniards all 
— of a different temperament from that of the people of the center 
provinces. Hence what policy suits Madrid may be quite distaste- 
''•il to Barcelona or Cadiz. This spirit seems to have permeated 
all classes in Spa^^JJ hence the difficulty of agreeing on a united 
policy. Any one acquainted with the history of Spain since the 
restoration of the Bourbons in 1814; the numerous plots and coun- 
terplots; spasmodic attempts at reform and constitutional govern- 
ment, to be promptly followed by absolutism; riots in the cities; 
rebellion in the provinces; Carlists rising — all keeping the country 
in a continual uproar — will admit that a partial explanation of this 
state of affairs is to be found in the diverse ethnical elements of 
the various provinces. The Carlist uprisings would be quite 
harmless were not the people of the Basque provinces firm believers 
in exploded ideas as to the legitimate rights of kings. 

It is necessary for the historian to glance at another result 
flowing from the long centuries of conflict with the Moors, since it 
tends to explain the peculiar influence religion has ever had in 
Spanish policy, which made the Inquisition such a hideous success, 
and which, as we see in the case of the Phillipines, is now bringing 
ruin to Spain. We must reflect that in contending with the Moor 



848 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

they were fighting not only an alien race, but an alien religion. 
For nearly eight centuries then it was " Christian against infidel, 
native against foreigner, European against Asiatic, inhabitant 
against invader. " It is not at all singular, then, that Catholic and 
Christian came to be, in popular thought, the same as countryman 
and patriot. For one not to be a firm believer in the national 
faith was the next thing to being a traitor. To doubt a man's 
orthodoxy was near to doubting his patriotism. To make men 
firm believers in the national faith was the first step to take in 
making them loyal subjects of Spain, and so the power given to the 
church in colonial affairs. 

Such a people as we have now described, in whose veins min- 
gled the blood of various races, brave, ambitious, able and filled 
with pride of ancestry, but who possessed at the same time wrong 
conceptions as to the rights of subject people, who held divergent 
views of policy, who were already fixed in the groves of religious 
intolerance, after being united in one people by the marriage of 
Ferdinand and Isabella, were given the control of the larger por- 
tion of the New World, with its interesting but helpless popula- 
tion. The story has been told of the conquest of Mexico and Peru. 
Spain suddenly leaped to the very pinnacle of power. Wealth 
poured in upon her. Under Charles V. and Phillip II. , she was the 
most powerful nation in Europe. Outside of Spain, the sway of 
Phillip II. embraced large portions of Europe, all West India 
Islands, what is now Central America and Mexico, and the latter 
term included the larger part of what is now the United States, 
not to mention the Floridian Peninsula, and a large portion of 
South America, while, across the Pacific, the Phillipine Islands 
became a part of his extensive domain. 

And now we pause to ask why it was that a nation so circum- 
stanced, but lately united in one people whose sudden rise to wealth 
and power startled the world, whose flag was now floating over 
sixty degrees of latitude in the New World, into whose lap poured 
the gold and silver of America, and who had assumed a command- 
ing position in the Spice Islands, should now have fallen to a position 
one of the feeblest in Europe? The great mass of the people of 
Spain labor under the fond delusion that no decline has taken place, 
that they are still the most enlightened, progressive and powerful 
nation. But as a matter of fact, only three generations elapsed 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 849 

from the death of Phillip II. until Spain had fallen to an extremely 
low ebb. The povert}^ ignorance and destitution, as portrayed 
by the pen of Buckel, were terrible. A slight change for the better 
occurred during the eighteenth century, but still Spain has remained 
in her fallen state, and no bright prospects of recovery are in store 
for her. 

Thoughtful writers generally attribute the sudden decline of 
Spain to three principal causes, and in order to understand the 
Spain of to-day we must glance at them. The first in order of 
importance is the Inquisition. We have no desire to paint the 
horrors of that system, no wish to reproach the church. Let us 
say they were honestly mistaken in a question of policy. We will 
point out the inevitable and disastrous consequences. Springing 
into life and vigor in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, for more 
than three centuries the Inquisition overspread Spain like a pall. 
Intellectual advance was most effectually prevented. There was 
no such a thing as free speech or free opinion. While the rest of 
Kurope was wakening to new life during the Reformation, there 
was no such result in Spain. Ten short years suf&ced to effectually 
throttle all efforts in that direction. Reflect that in Spain alone 
more than three hundred thousand individuals were condemned to 
suffer various penalties, more than thirty thousand being burned 
alive. Condemned and tortured and put to death, impoverished 
and imprisoned, for what? For being traitors to their country? 
For crimes and misdemeanors? Not at all, but for holding or being 
suspected of holding either personally or harboring in their family 
some member who held or was suspected of holding some opinion 
not agreeing in all points with those of the church. Neither age, 
sex nor condition was a palliative. Kven graves were violated, 
that the bodies might be burned, and the property long since 
descended to the heirs might be confiscated to enrich the church 
and the king. 

The result of such a procedure was instant and far-reaching. 
The crassest ignorance speedily became the rule. It could not be 
otherwise where all inquiry was effectually stifled. We are told 
that late in the seventeenth century, the upper classes in Spain 
were unacquainted with science or literature, and scarcely knew 
anything of the commonest events which occurred outside of their 
own country. We read the statement of an observer in Madrid in 



850 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

1679, that "men even in the highest position never thought it neces- 
sary that their sons should study; and that those who were destined 
for the army could not learn mathematics, if they desired to do so, 
as there were neither schools nor masters to teach them." We 
observe that it was only by chance that a student after attending 
the University of Salamanca for some years discovered that there 
was such a branch of science as mathematics. This same Uni- 
versity in 1 77 1 refused to allow the discoveries of Newton to be 
taught because they were not as consonant with revealed religion 
as the system of Aristotle! 

The Spanish mind has never recovered from that terrible 
blio-ht. We all know what ridiculously childish views all classes 
in Spain have expressed, as to the wealth and power of our country. 
Making all allowances for national egotism, what a strange exhibi- 
tion of ignorance she has given! To this day their minds are 
absorbed in distorted reflections on their past glory. They do not 
want to learn the true condition of affairs. As Buckel observes, 
"Spain sleeps on, untroubled, unheeding, impassive, receiving no 
impression from the rest of the world, and making no impression 
upon it. ' ' She is to-day paying for the awful mistake she made 
some centuries ago, and we shall see that the results were not con- 
fined to Spain alone, but extended to her colonies as well. 

Spain inflicted a severe blow to her own prosperity by the short- 
sighted, cruel policy she pursued in respect to two elements of her 
population. The Jews from an early date evidenced a great 
partiality for Spain. Since the time of Hadrian, that country 
was full of their colonies. When the Goths became Catholics the 
Jews were made the subjects of a most cruel persecution. But 
during the long centuries of the Moorish conquest, Arabian Spain 
was one European country, where the Israelite was afforded pro- 
tection. It is not singular, then, that they not only accumulated 
wealth "but gradually rose to the highest civil dignities, and 
made great advances in the various departments of letters. " We 
read of their schools in Cordova, Toledo, Barcelona, and Granada, 
crowded with scholars, which contributed to make Spain the one 
country in Kurope where learning made progress during the Dark 
Ages. The Jews were celebrated in mathematics, astronomy and 
medicine. But as the Moors lost their hold over the country, the 
Jews again felt the rigors of persecution. Without prolonging 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 85 1 

a dreary recital, suffice to say that in the very 3^ear Columbus made 
his memorable voyage, the Jews were expelled from Spain. Four 
months w^ere given them to wind up their business affairs. They 
were not allowed to take gold or silver w4th them, but could take 
personal property or bills of exchange. Let us not dwell on the 
unnecessary cruelty of their expulsion. By this act Spain lost 
a population estimated from one hundred and sixty thousand to 
eight hundred thousand of her most industrious, cultured and 
learned citizens. The moral consequences could not but be dis- 
astrous. The people of Spain had seen a most heinous crime 
committed. An act of national robbery had been consummated. 
Amidst great suffering and wrong, a whole people had been driven 
into exile. Such acts as these inevitably react on the mind and 
conscience of a nation. The economic results were equally deplor- 
able. " Do they call this Ferdinand a politic prince, who can thus 
impoverish his own kingdom and enrich ours!" was the surprised 
exclamation of a barbarian king to whom some of the poor exiles 
went for protection. 

And what shall we say to the expulsion of the Moriscoes or 
descendants of the Moors, in the opening years of the seventeenth 
century? It is not intended to dwell on the wrong, the cruelty, 
the bigotry, which produced and accompanied this act, but consider 
the lamentable results on Spain herself. ' ' About one million of 
the most industrious inhabitants of Spain were hunted out like wild 
beasts." The results were instant and lastingf. Savs Buckel, 
" The best systems of husbandry then known were practiced by 
the Moriscoes, who toiled and irrigated with indefatigable labor. 
The cultivation of rice, cotton, and sugar, and the manufacture of 
silk and paper w^ere almost confined to them. By their expulsion, 
all this was destroyed at a blow, and most of it was destroyed 

forever Arts and manufactures either degenerated or 

were entirely lost, and immense regions of arable land were left 
uncultivated. Some of the richest parts of Valencia and Granada 
were so neglected that means were wanting to feed even the scanty 
population which remained there. Whole districts were suddenly 
deserted, and down to the present day have never been repeopled. 
These solitudes gave refuge to smugglers and brigands, who suc- 
ceeded the industrious inhabitants formerly occupying them, and 
it is said that from the expulsion of the Moriscoes is to be dated 

48 



852 HISTORY OP THK UNITED STATES. 

the existence of those organized bands of robbers which after 
this period became the scourge of Spain, and which no subsequent 
government has been able entirely to extirpate." 

We will not speak further of the history of Spain, or the 
character of her people. We have now seen the diverse ethnical 
elements, the fusion of which has given us the Spain of to-day. 
It has been in no captious spirit that we have pointed out some of 
her traits of character. It helps us to understand the people with 
whom we suddenly found ourselves at war in the spring of 1898. 
It tends to make clear why Spain has made such wretched business 
in the management of colonies. She looks on them much as her 
Gothic rulers of a thousand years ago regarded the land of the 
Moors — lawful prey from whom she was to extort all she could. 
It explains the curious mixture of bigotry and cruelty observable 
in her treatment of the natives brought under her dominion. It 
partially explains why the Spanish people are so very proud of their 
history, why they are apparently unconscious that the rest of the 
world has advanced far beyond them, and why the masses of the 
people are in such depths of ignorance. But now leaving this 
part of our subject, let us consider her colonies, and why it was 
that our country felt justified in rescuing them from her grasp. 

The story of the conquest of Mexico and Peru has been told 
with a vast wealth of detail in the earlier pages of this book. It 
suf&ces to remark that in the short space of about fifty years from 
the time the Spanish admiral dropped anchor off San Salvador, the 
immense possessions of Charles V. and Phillip II. had been won 
by the sword. Already the hapless natives, groaning in slavery, 
were on the road to conversion and extermination. The extensive 
territory in the New World had been divided into two vice-royal- 
ties. One, at Lima, was the seat of government for South America, 
the various sections now composing the troubled republics of that 
continent being under the government of captain-generals directly 
under the supervision of the viceroy at Lima. Subsequently in 
the eighteenth century this extensive territory was divided, and 
independent vice-royalties established at Bogota and Buenos Ayres. 
The viceroy of Mexico exercised supervision over the Phillipines. 

And now let us see how the elements, as we have traced them, 
that go to make up Spain began to play havoc with their extensive 
possessions. Spain, we have seen, is composed of diverse ethnical 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 853 

elements. Colonies from different sections of Spain must display 
different characteristics. This accounts, in some measure, for the 
ceaseless wrangles displayed in the history of the South American 
Republics, and which were none the less active during the long 
period they were governed by viceroys, and prevented the proper 
growth of the country. Take for illustration Chili and Peru. 
The former is Biscayan, the latter Andalusian, in its origin; the 
one retains the hardihood of the north, the other the gayety and 
grace of the south of Spain. Nor do Kngland and Italy differ, 
more widel}^ in their habits and springs of action than do these 
neighboring colonies from opposite sections of the mother country. 
But this diversity of characteristics was one of the least of 
evils. It could have been overcome had an enlightened policy pre- 
vailed as to government. But first as to the treatment of the 
natives. A people who clamored for the expulsion of a hundred 
thousand and more of their best citizens, attending that expulsion 
with unnecessary acts of cruelty, and forbidding any assistance 
to the poor wretches in their forced migration; a people who could 
applaud the treachery of their sovereigns in condemning upwards 
of fifteen thousand of the inhabitants of Malaga to slaver}^ could 
not be expected to show mercy to the aborigines of the New World. 
The relatively small amount of gold that the natives had gathered 
in the course of their history did not go far in satisfying the wants 
of the conquestadores, let alone the urgent demands of Spain. To 
work the mines and the estates labor was needed, and accordingly the 
natives were simply enslaved, — divided up among the conquerors. 
Probabl}^ a more cruel form of slavery never existed. We are told 
that before twelve years had elapsed after the discover}^ of Cuba, 
several hundred thousands of its native inhabitants had perished, 
miserable victims to the grasping avarice of the white man. 
Markham tells us that in the vice-royalty of Peru in less than 
two centuries nine-tenths of the Indians had been destroyed from 
the face of the earth, and the survivors were ground down by 
pitiless slavery and oppression. How did Spain regard this? 
With favor, because, in the first place, it brought tribute to Spain; 
and, in the second place, the aborigines were thus given the inestim- 
able privilege of learning the true faith! Las Casas, Bishop of 
Chiapas, the life-long friend of the Indians, went to Spain in his 
endeavor to succor them. He had an interview with the Bishop 



854 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

of Burgos, who had the chief management of Indian affairs, and 
acquainted him with a few facts. Amongst other items of infor- 
mation he told him how seven thousand children had perished in 
three months. "Look you, what a droll fool!" interrupted the 
bishop. "What is that to me, and what is it to the king? " The 
men who did this were the "heroic ancestors '' to whom General 
Blanco appealed in one of his bombastic proclamations. Truly; 
and in starving reconcentrados they showed themselves worthy 
descendants of this ' ' heroic ancestry. ' ' 

Let us see how Spain treated her American possessions, and 
we shall see how utterly impossible it was for colonies so situated 
to thrive. The colonies were the personal property of the king 
of Spain, being given directly to Ferdinand and Isabella by the 
famous bull of Alexander VI. To assist the king in the adminis- 
tration of his property, two councils were formed, one to stand 
for the king in political matters, the other to attend to economic 
affairs. Passing by the political government, with its vice-royal- 
ties, governor-generals, etc., as not calling for anything especial, 
let us see how it was in the internal affairs of the colonies. 

In the first place, trade and commerce was made a strict 
monopoly. It was prohibited between the several provinces, and 
not at all allovt^ed with the outside world, except through Spain. 
The end in view was to derive all revenue possible for the govern- 
ment of Spain, quite regardless of the welfare of the colonies 
themselves. Prom only one port in Spain were ships allowed to set 
sail for the New AVorld. Down to 1718, that port was Seville, after 
that Cadiz. The ships were not allowed to leave Spain at their 
pleasure, but twice a year a fleet was made up, and after a tedious 
round of red tape and the collection of all sorts of charges departed 
under convoy. The ships could not stop at any port they pleased, 
but all goods for Mexico went to Vera Cruz, all for South America 
to Porto Bello on the Isthmus. From this point goods were dis- 
tributed all over South America. To illustrate how the system 
worked. Buenos Ayres is a port with a fine harbor, yet for 
decades goods for that place went first to Porto Bello, thence 
down the coast to Lima and thence overland to their destination. 

There could be no trade between the colonies. Quicksilver 
is needed in mining. The mines in Almaden could not supply the 
demand for Mexico. Peru had plenty, so a little trade sprang 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 855 

Up between Peru and Mexico for that commodity, to the benefit of 
both provinces. With her usual short-sightedness, Spain stopped 
this traffic and supplied Mexico with quick-silver from Germany 
through Spain. Late in the seventeenth century, one of the most 
able viceroys of Peru carelessly allowed a slight trade with Mexico, 
and a few objects of Chinese manufacture came thence into Mexico. 
Immediately the Spanish merchants sounded the alarm. The vice- 
roy was summarily deposed from office. The obnoxious articles in 
question were destroyed. A similar spirit ruled in agriculture. As 
late as 1803, orders were received in Spanish America to root up 
all vines in certain provinces, because it was hurting the wine trade 
of Cadiz. At one time, the cultivation of tobacco, flax, hemp, 
saffron, and olives was prohibited. Migration to the colonies was 
surrounded with all sorts of difficulties. In short, in all sorts of 
ways the industrial freedom of the colonies was interfered with, 
and the result was disastrous both to Spain and to the colonies. 
What chance was there for colonial prosperity? Trade hampered 
in every way, prohibited between the colonies, prohibited with the 
outside world. Movements of the citizens to the colonies, from 
the colonies, within the colonies, prohibited without a special 
license. But in one direction, all w^as energy: raising tribute for 
Spain. 

It is necessary to speak frankly about the interference of the 
church in the government of the colonies, since, from what we have 
learned of the state of the Spanish mind in regard to religion, 
and the practical results as shown in the Phillipines. It is a 
melancholy truth, abundantly attested by history, that it will not 
do to entrust religion, however pure it may be, with the political 
interests of a nation. Religious leaders, inspired with what they 
regard as the eternal interests of the people, loose sight of the 
blessings of temporal libert}^ Spain has ever erred in this matter. 
In 1522, it was decreed that no one with the slightest suspicion of 
heresy should be allowed to set foot on Spain's American soil. 
Later, it was provided that the authorities should make vigorous 
search for any such so minded, and to "punish them severely." 
In 1569, the Inquisition, that most dangerous weapon against 
popular liberty, was set up. This meant the crushing of all 
freedom of thought. It were vain to think of advance in any 
direction, so long as it was in power. As a whole, the well-organ- 



856 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ized hierarchy of the church in all the colonies was independent of 
the civil authorities, and in some respects claimed to be superior to 
it. Time after time the whole civil administration was thrown 
into disorder by wranglings with ecclesiastical authorities. Many 
illustrations of this disastrous state of affairs could be given. 
Then again there was the same spirit of greed that is so exemplified 
in the Phillipines. When in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled, they left 
such vast wealth in Lima, that a special department of government 
had to be provided to attend to it. 

It were utterly hopeless, judging from this brief sketch of 
Spanish policy, to expect the state of the colonists to be happy 
and prosperous. In 1736, the viceroy of Peru describes a most 
gloomy state of affairs. The Spanish population was mostly con- 
centrated in Lima. The noble and wealthy oppresssed the poor, 
and all classes oppressed the Indians. Only one industry seems to 
have been flourishing. In Lima alone there were thirty-six con- 
vents, each one, on an average, equal to four in Spain. In 1772, 
the governor of New Granada makes a most despondent report. 
The local officials everywhere were indifferent and careless as to 
their duty; the people were steeped in poverty. Trade was almost 
extinct; capital was lacking, and there were no opportunities for 
its investment. Kvery one sought to subsist on the government by 
procuring some little office. Commerce with Spain only employed 
two ships a year. If it were only allowable to export tobacco, 
cocoa and precious woods, the colony could hope for prosperity. 

It is then no wonder that in the opening years of the present 
century, when the Napoleonic wars gave a chance to the colonies 
in the New World, they gained with comparative ease their inde- 
pendence. Neither is it any wonder considering their past history, 
their centuries of misrule, the state of general ignorance, the pride 
of race, that from that day to this they have constituted so many 
disorderly republics, and only now and in but few instances does a 
stable government, standing for liberty and progress, make its 
appearance. However, the future is before them. Some of our 
clearest thinkers hold that, having finally severed the last political 
tie with the mother country, the real influence of Spain, as shown 
in language and customs, and to be shown in commerce, will com- 
mence; in short, that Spanish life, crushed in the Old, will become 
a world power and influence in the New World. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 857 

Let US now turn our attention to Cuba, * ' La siempre fiel Isla 
de Cuba/' as the Spanish writers so fondly termed it before the 
war of 1868. We have all read the glowing description of the 
island left by Columbus. He supposed that at last he had found 
the shores of Cipango, the country of the Great Khan. These 
golden dreams were soon dissipated. However, this lovely island — 
with its fine climate, though situated in the tropics; its fertile soil; 
its forests of valuable woods, tropical birds, and flowers, and fruits; 
with its aboriginal population, mild and gentle in disposition, num- 
bering well in the hundreds of thousands — formed a most attractive 
combination for the conquestadores. 

We have already quoted Las Casas' observation as to the fearful 
results of Spanish policy with the aborigines. Spanish writers 
labor to show that the enthusiast Las Casas was mistaken in his 
figures. How^ever true that may be, Gomara, writing in 1553, 
aSvSerts that the Indians had even then "entirely disappeared." 
The name of an important city near Havana, Matanzas, meaning 
"massacre," still commemorates the last great slaughter of the 
Indians. To take the place of the fast disappearing natives, 
negro slaves were imported as early as 1523, and thus the curse of 
negro slavery was fastened on Cuba. Little did the Spanish 
settlers dream that in enslaving the Africans they were forging the 
chains which three centuries later were to bind their own descend- 
ants in political slavery to Spain. 

The earliest settlements in Cuba were in the southeastern 
portion, attracted thence by the nearness to the Spanish colonists 
in Jamaica. Santiago was one of the earliest settlements, and 
was long the capital of Cuba, and has remained the capital of the 
eastern division of the island. In time Havana was settled, and 
owing to its location it became the port of call for the trading 
fleet to and from Vera Cruz, and so steadily rose in importance. 
From about the middle of the sixteenth century the captain-general 
resided in Havana, having a lieutenant in Santiago. Por two 
centuries nothing of importance is to be noted in regard to Cuba. 
The same restrictive policy as to trade and commerce held sway, 
consequently population increased slowly. In 1660, it was not 
above 40,000, only a tithe of that on the island at the time of its 
discovery. During this extended period of time the Spanish West 
Indies, known as the Spanish Main, was the theater of operation 



858 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

for pirates, cut-throats and freebooters that often threatened the 
coast cities of Cuba. 

During our French and Indian war the English made an attack 
on Havana, in which, as we were all good British subjects then, 
troops from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey participated. 
The result was the surrender of Havana to the Knglish. But in 
the treaty of Paris the city and with it the island were handed 
back to Spain. It is hard to understand how Kngland came to 
depart from her usual course in giving up her conquest, but it was 
extremely fortunate for our country that she did so, for with Cuba 
in her possession, commanding as she would the Gulf of Mexico, 
there would have been no Louisiana Purchase, and our 
histor}" would have been vastly different. With the 
restoration of Cuba to Spain began a new era in the 
history of the island. 

The restrictive policy of Spain with reference 
to the trade of her colonies began to break down 
late in the eighteenth century. In 1793, the 
coasts of Cuba were blockaded by the French, and 
the inhabitants were in great distress, to relieve 
which Spain passed a decree throwing open the 
ports to neutral vessels. The result was instantly 
felt, the United States at once opening up a 
nourishing trade, dispatching more than one hun- 
dred cargoes of grain and provisions. An improve- 
ment set in. The white population, which in two 
centuries had only grown to 90,000, received an acces- 
sion of 37,000 in a few years after the ports were opened. It was 
during the first quarter of the present century that Cuba gained 
the name of the ' ' ever faithful Island ' ' by remaining loyal to 
Spain while the colonies on the main land were throwing off the 
yoke. It happened from 1799 to 181 2, Cuba was blessed with an 
exceptionally good governor-general, the Marquis de Someruelos. 
Although they were not supposed to be retained in office more than 
five years, yet he held his position more than twice that period. 
The greatly increased trade facilities, the new era of prosperity, 
and the prudence and sagacity of Someruelos prevented any expres- 
sion of discontent in Cuba. 

In 181 2, after Napoleon had overrun Spain, and had placed his 





MARIA CHRISTINA. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



S.59 



brother, Joseph, on the throne, only to have him retire in disgust, 
the Cortes at Cadiz adopted a Constitution for Spain, which held out 
a fascinating- prospect for liberty to the colonies, — they were to 
have a share in the government and such extensive privileges that, 
if they had only been honestl}^ extended, the island would have 
speedly attained a wonderful prosperity. But Ferdinand VII., 
great-grandfather of the present boy king, a man lacking almost 
every trait of character fitting him to rule, came to the throne in 
1814, and at once set the Constitution aside, and "at once took a 
plunge back as far towards the Dark Ages as was possible in a world 
that had just witnessed the French Revolution." The hopes of 
Cuba as well as those of the liberal element in Spain, were 
dashed to the ground, and once more the repressive 
system prevailed. 

In 1820 occurred a turn of the kaleidoscope 
in Spanish affairs. The golden stream from 
America had dwindled to nothing. The colonies 
on the main land w^ere throwing off the yoke. 
Spain was powerless to prevent. Cuba, how- 
ever, remained loyal, though there was talk of 
armed intervention from Columbia and Mexico to 
force Cuba into a rebellion. Bolivar had his 
agents in Cuba to work up a revolution, which was 
prevented largely by the influence of the United 
States. The rising tide of dissatisfaction in Spain 
was so great that at length Ferdinand as a measure of 
safety decreed the adoption of the Constitution; and again 
Cuba began to dream of prosperitv, and a share in the government. 
This time the arms of France, and the moral support of the Holy 
Alliance interfered in distracted Spain. Ferdinand again found 
himself in absolute power and again tore up the Constitution, and 
once again Cuba's dreams were blasted. To show how despotically 
Cuba was governed, we might remark that in view of the threat- 
ened uprising on account of the work of the agents of Bolivar, the 
captain-general was given in 1825 all the powers of a dictator. 
He v/as directly given all the powers of a commander of besieged 
cities. He could deport from the island without any further pro- 
cess of law "any person, whatever be their rank, class or condi- 
tion, whose continuance therein " be deemed inadvisable. He could 




86o HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

"suspend the exercise of any order whatsoever, or any general 
provision made concerning any branch of the administration," at 
his personal pleasure. The captain-general retained from that day 
to this such powers, and freely exercised them. 

The weak and vacillating Ferdinand died in 1833, bequeath- 
ing to Spain the Carlist troubles, which have twice since that 
date plunged the country in civil war, and are once more causing 
the most ominous gathering of clouds in the political sky. To 
gain popular support, Christina, regent during the minority of 
Isabella II., decreed in 1836 the adoption of the Constitution. 
But now we are to see how the fair promises of Spain were to be 
broken. As we have seen, the captain-general had power to 
*' suspend any ordinance whatsoever." September, 1836, a sailing 
vessel brought to Santiago de Cuba the intelligence that the Con- 
stitution had again been proclaimed in Spain. General Lorenzo, 
the military governor of Santiago, in the midst of great rejoicing, 
visions of a happy, prosperous future, proclaimed the Constitution 
in his province. He apparently did not know what a helpless 
official he was. The captain-general at Havana was Tacon. He 
knew exactly what he was expected to do. He promptly "sus- 
pended" the operation of the Constitution in Cuba, and sent word 
to Santiago that ' ' not the slightest change in the order of things 
should be made unless by his express and final order." Neverthe- 
less, an effort to obtain their rights was made, and three deputies 
from Santiago went to Spain and vainly endeavored to be heard. 
They were coldly shown the door, and the Cortes decided that the 
"provinces of America and Asia, these shall be ruled and adminis- 
tered by special laws appropriate to their respective situation and 
circumstances, and proper to cause their happiness." Kver since 
that fatal da}^ affairs have gone from bad to worse in Cuba. 

As this was a crucial point in Cuban histor}^ let us see Spain's 
probable line of reasoning. In area Cuba was about one-fourth 
that of Spain. It was a country richly endowed by nature. It 
occupied a most commanding position in the Gulf of Mexico. Its 
long coast line was dotted with numerous deep, spacious, land- 
locked harbors, in which the navies of the world could find anchor- 
age. It possessed a wonderfully fertile soil, vast forests of most 
valuable woods, and mines of copper, iron and other minerals. It 
had prospered under what little liberty it enjoyed. Spain evidently 




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862 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

feared that should she relax her authority over the island the 
colony would make such rapid strides in wealth and prosperity, 
and would so develop its unrivaled resources that it would speedily 
surpass Spain herself in importance and power, and soon ceasing 
to be content with half-way liberties, would demand and obtain 
independence. That they were correct in regard to the commerce of 
Cuba is shown by the fact that as early as 1 847 the imports and exports 
of Cuba exceeded those of Spain by five million dollars. In view of 
her power, Spain reasoned that it was the better policy to hold, by 
force, her last possession of importance in the Western Hemisphere. 

So she fell back on that fatal line of policy, so congenial to 
Spanish taste, and regarded Cuba as a subject country, out of 
which she was to derive all the revenue possible, but the welfare 
of the colony, the good of the people was not to be considered. 
Smarting under the loss of the gold and the silver from the main 
land, Spain must contrive, as far as possible, to force Cuba alone 
to make good the loss. The crown needed revenue. There were 
generals, impoverished grandees, politicians, and favorites of a 
dissolute queen, that must be provided with lucrative offices, and 
so an army of officials was saddled on the island, with an army of 
soldiers to enforce its demands. Taxes were multiplied beyond all 
reason. In all conceivable ways revenue was wrung from the ' ' ever 
faithful Isle," and Cuba, which had formerly drawn money from 
Spain, became instead a sort of reserve treasury for that impov- 
erished country. 

About fifty years ago this system had come to full bloom in 
Cuba. The captain-general was an irresponsible despot. It was 
said at that time that ' ' individuals, for the slightest possible cause 
of offense — often indeed without any cause whatever — are [written 
in 1850] seized and banished from the island; or, what is still worse, 
are incarcerated in loathsome prisons. ' ' At the same time, speaking 
of the Cubans, "there is but one way of avoiding persecution, but 
one way of escape when persecuted, but one way to obtain justice 
when seeking ordinary redress. It is by bribery. Gold will open 
prison doors, procure dispensation for falsely imputed crimes, obtain 
a tardy decree of long sought justice. " In 1844, about S2 5, 000, 000 
yearly was being squeezed out of the inhabitants. It was shown 
that only a very small per cent, of this vast amount was being 
applied to the legitimate purposes of taxation, and, continues our 



HISTORY OP THE UNITKD STATES. 863 

author, "when it ivS considered that for variety and extent, for 
amount and oppressiveness, they exceed any taxation imposed by 
any government in any country upon the earth; when the enormity 
of the whole subject matter is regarded in all its features, no one 
can repress a feeling of abhorrence at such acts of tyrann}^ and of 
wonder that they have been so long endured in silence." This 
was written in 1850, so that Cuba suffered from these wrongs for 
nearly half a century more. 

What did the Cubans receive in exchange for all this revenue 
wrung from them? As for the officials: "In the whole island a 
most brutal spirit of despotism is strikingly prevalent in all officials 
of the government from the captain-general down to the most 
abject of his hirelings, not excepting the municipal and other local 
authorities." As for the Cubans themselves: "They are excluded 
from the army, the judiciary, the treasury and customs, and from 
all influential and lucrative positions — all good and enlightened 
patriots are forced into obscurity or persecuted or expatriated." 
As for other abuses: "The press under the most infamous and 
servile censorship is a weapon only wielded against their rights — 
a petition signed by more than two is condemned as a seditious 
act." The vast amount of taxes was being spent in -pRymg large 
salaries to the army officials, not one of whom was a native Cuban, 
also, ' ' To support an army of twent}' thousand men to intimidate 
and oppress the peaceful inhabitants of Cuba, and likewise the 
entire navy of Spain, unnecessaril}^ stationed in the ports of the 
island for the same purpose, in the paying of a vast number of 
officers residing either on the island or in Spain, and in remittances 
to the court." 

In spite of the enormous amount collected ' ' it was only by 
subscription that the inhabitants can secure to themselves temples 
for their worship, or cemeteries for their dead, and for a baptism, 
or a burial, or to obtain any of the consolations of religion, it 
requires a large additional sum to be paid." Kducation was badly 
neglected. In 1S50, only one free child in sixty-three attended 
school. Out of a total school population of about one hundred 
thousand less than ten thousand were receiving an education, and 
by far the larger portion of them were educated at private expense. 
To illustrate, a populous district of over thirty thousand inhabi- 
tants had one school of forty boys within its borders, a town of 



864 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ten thousand had one school of thirty boys. General O'Donnell, 
afterwards one of the numerous favorites of Isabella II., perhaps 
fearing that the children would imbibe liberal ideas, suppressed 
primary schools. Did the w^ealthier classes desire to send their 
children abroad for education? They w^ere forbidden by law to do 
such a thing. 

One thing the Cubans could get, provided, of course, they had 
money to pay the fees. They could purchase a title. If they had 
from twenty to fifty thousand dollars to pay for the luxury they 
could become Count this or Marquis de la some other place. Many 
of the prosperous sugar planters availed themselves of this privi- 
lege, and so collectively the "nobility" were often called the 
"sugar noblemen." We can scarcely blame them for buying a 
title since it saved them from petty annoyances at the hands of 
officials. A nobleman could only be tried by a high tribunal, and 
could not be arrested for debt. 

In levying tribute the Spaniard's only care was to get all 
possible. In the matter of flour, for instance, wheat was not raised 
in Cuba, and Spain could not supply the demand. Under these cir- 
cumstances, being one of the necessities of life, we would naturally 
expect only a moderate duty to be placed on it. But in 1834, a 
duty of ten dollars a barrel was imposed. This almost destroyed 
the trade with the United States, annihilated the mercantile 
marine which the island had been creating, put an end to ship 
building which had been flourishing, caused distress in Cuba; but 
to offset all this, produced revenue for Spain. In short, the native 
Cubans were taxed every turn they made, on what they raised, on 
what they sold, on what they bought, on what they manufactured, 
exported or imported. ^very religious consolation sought, — 
baptism, marriage, death, burial — all taxed. Their business move- 
ments interfered with in every wa}", education neglected, the press 
turned against them; and all that revenue might be gained for 
Spain, that an army of ofiicials might be enriched, and that politi- 
cal chains might be bound more strongly around the ' ' ever faithful 
Island," while the sons of Cuba were "persecuted, imprisoned, 
buried in dungeons, banished, vsentenced to fortresses and con- 
demned to death for calumnies, for imaginary crimes of disloyalty, 
on no better foundation than flimsy suspicion or false denunciation 
by infamous spies. ' ' We have in the last pages presented a very 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 865 

conservative picture of the conditions in Cuba for the fifty years 
preceding 1898. 

We must now consider the question of slavery in Cuba, which 
for many years, recognized as a great evil by the Cubans themselves, 
was forced on the island by an unscrupulous ring, to share in the 
ill-gotten gains of which the royal family itself participated. At 
first it was supposed that owing to the climate, slave labor w^as 
the only kind that could be employed on the island, hence the 
deputies to the Cortes of 181 2 and iSaodefended the slave trade. In 
1817, Spain joined with the other nations in declaring the slave trade 
illegal. This step was considered almost as a calamity in Cuba. 
But the danger lay in quite another direction. The profits that 
could be cleared in this infamous trade, the hush-money that could be 
extorted by officials, were far too great to be relinquished. Spain 
had no intention of giving up the trade, though in opposition to 
her treaty with Kngland. It is stated that the ex-regent Christiana 
was at the head of a slave importing company. The captain- 
general received, as his share of the hush-money, from thirty to 
fifty dollars for each slave imported. We are told that in the 
first three months of the year 1850, captain-general Alcoy cleared 
about $200,000 in this way. 

But now the native Cubans, the Creoles, soon awoke to a very 
real and pressing danger. They were constantly oppressed with 
a fear of a repetition of the insurrectionary scenes of Hayti and 
San Domingo. The proportion of the colored population to the 
white was constantly increasing. 'In 1775 it was only forty-four 
per cent.^ but in 1844 it was more than sixty per cent., and at that 
date the slave trade was steadily increasing. In that year it was 
pointed out in a warning way that ' ' insurrections have become 
frequent and have assumed a more alarming character. Instead 
of being prompted as they formerly were by the accidental severity 
of some overseer, they are now the result of a settled conviction 
in the slaves of their own rights and those of their race. ' ' In 
1 841 the Royal Association for Improvement, the Chamber of 
Commerce and the Municipality of Havana, and the principal cor- 
porations of Cuba, memoralized Madrid against the trade. But all 
in vain. The importation of slaves continued. And now, observe 
the weapon Spain held over Cuba. As long as slaverv continued, 
the Cuban population knew very well that in event they rose in 



866 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

rebellion the military authorities could by arming the blacks, let 
loose an insurrection that would shock the whole civilized world. 

Thus the Heraldo of Madrid in 1853 asserts: "It is well for 
all to know, whether native or foreign, that the island of Cuba 
can only be Spanish or African. When the day comes when the 
Spaniards should be found to abandon her, they will do so by 
bequeathing their sway to the blacks." Thus is seen the truth of 
our assertion, that in enslaving the negroes the Spaniards enslaved 
their own descendants. We have now learned that the Spaniards 
carrying out their policy of forcing all revenue possible out of 
Cuba held the white population in political and economical slavery, 
not only laying on them burdens such as no other people had to 
endure, but held the fear of a successful insurrection on the part 
of the slaves should they (the whites) rise in rebellion, refusing at 
the same time to permit the emancipation of the slaves, and con- 
tinuing the slave trade with all its horrors, on account of the great 
profit to all concerned in it. While the slave trade was finally 
abolished, yet on the whole, matters went from bad to worse in 
unhappy Cuba, until finally we come to the ten years' war. 

It would have been passing strange had Cuba remained sub- 
missive and tranquil all the years preceding the outbreak of 1868. 
As a matter of fact, there were a number of conspiracies and small 
insurrections, some of which were on the part of the whites to 
break the political bondage, and some on the part of the slaves 
and free colored people to gain their freedom and rights. In 1823, 
there was a conspiracy known as the Soles de Bolivar, which had 
reference to the rising under Bolivar, but this did not amount to 
much. Another conspiracy in 1829, known as the Black Kagle, is 
attributable to emissaries sent from Mexico to work up the revolu- 
tion. In 1842-44 there was a verv serious insurrection among the 
blacks. It is claimed that the British Consul, Mr. Turnbull, was 
one of the prime movers in the matter, in the secret hopes that in 
the terribly chaotic condition necessarily attending a successful 
slave revolt, Kngland would seize the island. However that may 
have been, the insurrection is principally remembered for the sicken- 
ing scenes of cruelty with which the authorities suppressed it. It 
is something terrible to read the accounts. It made no difference 
whether an unfortunate suspect was innocent or guilty, he was 
tortured until he confessed something and then shot. The streets 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 867 

of Matanzas (the scene of Indian butchery centuries before) at 
times actually ran with blood. Between three and four thousand 
negroes were thus put to death. 

The filibustering expeditions 01 Lopez in 1850-51 attracted 
much attention in this country. Lopez himself was a native of 
Venezuela. Kntering the Spanish army he rose to the rank of 
major-general. Retiring to private life in Cuba he was detected 
in conspiracy against Spanish rule, and fled to the United States 
for safety. Finding many congenial spirits he was soon busy 
organizing expeditions to Cuba, where he was under the impression 
he would be joined by the Cubans in great numbers. The first 
expedition in 1850 captured and held Cardenas for a few hours, 
but they had to precipitately retreat, and barely escaped capture 
at the hands of a Spanish man-of-war. Amongst the four hundred 
and fifty men comprising this expedition were some well known in 
America. There were such men as Pickett, O'Hara and Gonzales. 
The next year, undeterred by his first failure, Lopez made a landing 
at Bahia Honda. His second in command was Colonel Crittenden, 
a graduate of West Point, and an officer of distinction in the Mexican 
War. Lopez had miscalculated the feelings of his countrymen. 
There was no rising. The expedition met with disaster. Lopez 
was himself garroted, Crittenden shot, and with the leaders per- 
ished about one hundred of their followers; another hundred endured 
imprisonment in Spain. 

The years of abuse had been leading up to, these suppressed 
insurrections had been prophetic of, a coming struggle which should 
test to the utmost the ability of Cuba, the power of Spain. In 
1868, Queen Isabella II. finally exhausted the patience of even 
Spain, and found it necessary for her comfort to vSeek refuge in 
France. Marshal Serrano and his liberal associates came in power, 
and a constitutional form of government was adopted. Looking 
backward, it is singular that Serrano, who had himself advocated 
emancipation of the slaves in Cuba, Sagasta and Dulce, who were 
ready to risk all for constitutional government in Spain, should not 
have been ready to extend some of this liberty to Cuba. But they 
clung to the traditions of the past, and determined to hold the 
island in the old way; this, in spite of appeals from distinguished 
citizens from Havana, in spite of most eloquent protests from 
Kmilio Castelar, who vainly pointed to the condition of Canada, 

49 



868 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and urged that somewhat similar liberties should be granted their 
colonies. Lersundi, the captain-general who had but recently 
arrived on the island, and consequently had not acquired his 
fortune, but, judging from the frantic efforts made in that direc- 
tion, did not propose to be long about it, refused the respectful 
petition of the Havanese, and hastily organized the volunteer 
army to subdue the insurrection which had begun. 

All the preceding incipient insurrections and conspiracies 
which Spain had so easily crushed were but ebulitions of a deeper 
undercurrent, which was v^orking unseen. Secret societies, akin 
to our Masonic lodges, were formed here and there, at Havana, 
Santiago and other places, preparing for a more concerted move- 
ment. The Spanish government, impressed with the necessity of 
doing something, and impelled to action by a petition of 
twenty thousand Cubans, called for a commission to 
meet in Madrid in 1865 to consider the state of the 
colon3\ This commission accomplished nothing. 
The Cubans assert that it levied even harder 
terms of taxation. The commissioners returned 
to Cuba, and then it was that plans began to be 
laid for war. This action was hastened by 
knowledge of the coming revolution in Spain. 
The movement was rather precipitantly inaugu- 
rated by Cespedes, in the village of Yara, not 
far from Bayamo, in the province of Santiago, 
October 10, 1868. This was the beginning of thd 
famous ten years' war. It is poetic justice that the 
province where the banner of the Republic was first 
flung to the breeze, where most of the hostilities were 
confined, was the one which witnessed the signal success of the 
United States army thirty years later which liberated Cuba from 
the grasp of Spain. 

It is not our intention to give any detailed account of this 
It was after all only introductory to the war of 1895. The 




war. 



years between, while nominally those of peace, were filled with 
angry complaints and ominous mutterings of a people, chafing 
under the broken promises which had put an end to the first war. 
We want to point first to the organization of the volunteers in 
Cuba; that force which has gained such an unenviable notoriety 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 869 

for ferocious cruelty, of which Lersundi boasted, as he was leav- 
ing Cuba, that his successor would find difficulty in controlling, 
which speedily proved the truth of that boast by shooting down 
innocent people in the Villanueva theater, in the Louvre and on the 
Public Square, which shot eight young medical students at Havana 
and caused thirty-two others to be condemned to the chain-gang 
for a trifling offense, and which compelled the retirement of the 
new governor -general Dulce. The volunteers were the Spanish 
inhabitants of the island, men who had come to Cuba to seek their 
fortunes, the army of blood-suckers, in short, whose ranks were 
recruited from Spain, as those who had won their fortunes returned 
to the Peninsula to enjoy it. 

In them, the Spanish national character came promptly to the 
front and their spirit speedily animated the whole army. The war 
was marked by signal and repeated acts of cruelty. What shall we 
say to a decree ' ' to shoot all insurgents captured with arms in their 
hands, "or to that later decree that all insurgent prisoners should 
be shot, all insurgents who surrendered sentenced to the chain- 
gang? What comment shall we make on the proclamation of 
Count Valmaceda, "IDvery man from the age of fifteen years 
upwards, found away from his habitation, who does not prove a 
justifiable motive therefor shall be shot. Kvery habitation unoccu- 
pied will be burned. Kvery habitation from which does not float a 
white flag will be reduced to ashes"? From a Spanish paper pub- 
lished in New York, we read that it was the deliberate intention 
to exterminate the Cuban population if other means failed. We 
see in this the spirit which inflicted the reconcentrado horrors of 
the last war. 

For the present we pass by the Virgins affair, taking it up in 
order later on. The insurgents did the very best that they could 
with the limited means at their command, but they were not pre- 
pared. During this war, we hear of Gomez, Maceo, Garcia and 
others. A government was organized, and a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was issued which set forth the groimds of complaint. 
This unequal contest waged for ten 3'ears. It is estimated that Spain 
lost upwards of two hundred thousand men, mainlv by disease, and 
expended seven hundred million dollars. Whole provinces were 
desolated. A published record of Spanish barbarities show that 
2,672 political prisoners were executed, 4,672 insurgents were cap- 



8/0 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 



tured whose fate was never known, 13,000 estates were confiscated. 
The war was finally terminated by the treaty or compact of Kl 
Zanjon entered into on behalf of Spain by General Martinez 
Campos, who had been sent by Spain to pacify the island. 

By the terms of this compact Spain was to make certain 
concessions, and reform certain abuses, and it is of importance 
to know whether these promises were kept, since on that point 
depends the question whether the last w^ar was justifiable or not. 
Spain agreed to g-rant a general amnesty for political offences 
dating from 1868 to 1878. The records show that this promise 
was only partially kept. Brigadier-general Vidal was assassinated 
by the direct order of the Spanish General Polavieja, 
who further admits that in 1880 he sent many Cubans 
without trial to the African Island of Fernand Po. 
Spain calls attention to the fact that slavery was 
completely abolished, though the treaty of ^anjon 
only called for the liberty of those who had 
fought in the insurgent ranks. In reply, it is 
pointed out that slavery was killed in the war 
any way, and that Spain simply recognized the 
fact officially. Spain says that the Spanish 
Constitution of 1876 was extended to Cuba in 
1 88 1, since which time the island has been fullv 
represented in the Cortes. In reply, it is said that 
means were found to divest this concession of all 
value by manipulating the electoral law in such a 
manner, by making the right of suffrage depend on the 
payment of a poll-tax, that only three per cent, of the Cubans could 
vote. But at the same time means were found to make nearly every 
Spaniard a voter. The simple declaration of the head of a commer- 
cial house put every employee on the list of voters, so that miserable 
little firms v/ere represented for voting purposes at the polls by 
thirty or forty partners. To illustrate the results, in the muni- 
cipal district of Guines, out of 12,500 Cubans, thirty-two had the 
right to vote, but out of 500 Spanirads 400 were voting. It w^as 
the same in other cases, coUvSequently of the Cuban representation 
in the Cortes there were never more than six native Cubans, and 
generally only three. The rest of the members returned from Cuba 
were Spaniards temporarily residing in Cuba and notorioush^ the 




GENERAL GOMEZ. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



871 



tools of the Spanish official classes. In proof of this statement we 
refer to the fact that Sagasta made a sharp protest against the 
Cuban members of the Cortes of 1897, since thej were simply- 
returned at the dictation of Generals Weyler and Canovas. 

It is evident a representation made up in this way was not a 
very valuable concession. But had they all been native Cubans, 
all anxious for reform measures, their efforts would have been quite 
fruitless, since all Spanish parties, no matter how sharp their con- 
tention in other directions, agreed thoroughly on one point: the 
situation in Cuba should not be changed. Whenever Cuban 
affairs were to be discussed, the members of the Cortes attended 
to other business. The delegates spoke to empty benches. We 
should also reflect that the Spanish Cortes, unlike the 
Knglish Parliament or our Congress, possesses but 
little real power, and so Spain could not grant to 
the island what she did not enjoy herself, political 
liberty. 

The electoral law rendered quite empty of 
value the system of municipal government which 
was paraded w4th a flourish by Colonial Secre- 
tary Guilermo, viz., that the towns \vere to elect 
their municipal boards and have local self-govern- 
ment. How did it work? "In 1891, the Span- 
iards predominated in 31 out of 37 town councils 
in the Province of Havana. In Guines, not a single 
Cuban was to be found among its town councillors. 
At the same epoch there were three Cuban deputies in the 
Provincial Deputation of Havana, two in that of Matanzas 
and three in that of Santa Clara. Finally out of twenty governors 
of the province of Matanzas only two have been Cubans. One of 
these was a professional bureaucrat and the other was an army 
officer who had fought against his country. During the same 
period there has been onl}" one native Cuban permitted to act as 
governor in the province of Havana, and he had spent almost his 
whole life in Spain. In the other provinces there has never been 
a governor who w^as born on the island. " Add to this the further 
fact that the governor-general had the power of appointing the 
president of the council and to suspend its sessions, and we see 
of how little real value was this reform. 




GENERAL GARCIA. 



872 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



As far as taxes were concerned the whole matter remained in 
its former deplorable condition. The native Cubans continued to 
be robbed right and left for the benefit of the same classes as in 
the days before the war. They could not help themselves, since 
all the machinery of government in spite of the reforms remained 
as it was. To show what great burdens were laid on Cuba, 
consider a few facts. The governor-general, besides being furn- 
ished a palace in Havana, a country house, servants, coaches, etc., 
drew a salary of $50,000 yearly. Tlie director-general of the 
treasury drew a salary of $18,500. The Archbishop of Santiago 
and Bishop of Havana were paid $18,000 each. Even govern- 
ment clerks of the third and fourth class were paid four and five 
thousand dollars a year. In 1895, out of a budget of 
,000,000 all but three-quarters of a million went to 
pay the interest on the debt and cost of government. 
Less than three per cent, was applied to purposes 
of benefit to Cuba, for remember that the vast 
debt of Cuba, amounting in 1895 to nearly $300,- 
000,000, not a cent represented outlays for 
improvements on the island, it contained many 
items that had nothing to do with Cuba, and, 
finally, it included the debt incurred by Spain in 
subjugating Cuba in the ten years' war. 

To show how shamelessly Cuba was robbed 
many facts might be quoted. In 1892 Minister 
Romero Robledo took one million dollars belonging 
to the Cuban treasury and loaned it to the Trans- Atlantic 
Company, of which he was treasurer. Threatened with 
prosecution, he replied that if prosecuted all his predecessors from 
every political party would have to sit beside him in the dock. In 
January, 1890, it was shown in the Cortes that $6,500,000 of Cuban 
funds had been stolen, though the safe was locked with three keys, 
each in the possession of a different official. In the same debate 
it was shown that during the ten years' war, $22,811,000 had 
been stolen from the Cuban treasury by false returns for supplies 
purchased. In March, 1890, General Pando asserted that $12,- 
000,000 had been stolen in Cuba bv the issue of false warrants. 
In 1887 the frauds in the Havana Custom-house were so notorious 




GENERAL WEYLBR. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 8; 3 

that General Marin (who must have been an honest man) entered 
at the head of a military force and discharged every employee. 
Por all these offences not one person was ever punished. In 1891 
three hundred and fifty officials were indicted in Cuba for fraud, 
but not one was punished. 

It is not singular, considering all these facts, that the fact of 
^anjon never gave satisfaction and consequently there were several 
abortive attempts to renew the war, and that many portents in the 
political sky foretold the oncoming of the last w^ar, involving in its 
course the United States. General Maceo, at first, refused to recog- 
nize the treaty, and continued a guerilla war for eleven months. 
There was a small uprising in 1879. Generals Garcia and Jose 
Marti tried to start an insurrection in 1880. Generals Gomez and 
Maceo tried to fan the embers of discontent into flame in 1884. But 
Cuba was not ready. Besides, a very considerable body of Cubans 
began to dream of autonomy under the rule of Spain. Jose Marti, 
one of the most gifted sons of Cuba, poet, author, statesman and 
leader, devoted the time from i88c to 1895 in organizing and 
getting supplies for the conflict which he foresaw was coming. He 
organized Revolutionary societies, every member of which con- 
tributed the wages of one day each week to a fund which was used in 
buying guns and ammunition which were then smuggled into Cuba 
so that their forces ^vould have something more than clubs and 
machetes to fight with when the time had come. It is not too much 
to say that the early successes of the late war were due to the 
preparatory work of Marti. 

In 1892 the autonomist party in Cuba issued a manifesto 
pointing out the numerous grounds of complaint, and venturing to 
express a fear that in time the countr}" would resort to extreme 
measures. This manifesto attracted some attention in Spain and 
led to what Minister Taylor assures us was the only honest attempt 
ever made in Spain to give Cuba something like self-government. 
The then colonial minister drafted a reform bill along honest lines, 
but it never came to a vote. In 1894, the Agricultural Society of 
Cuba, the wealthiest corporation in the island, ventured to protest 
against the whole system of commercial laws, insisting that 
" economically, they aim at the destruction of public wealth, and, 
politically, they are the cause of inextinguishable discontent and 
contain the germs of grave dissensions." Then Spain made a 



874 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

play for effect. Cuba was at last to be given great concessions. 
Minister Abarzuza brought forward Maura's reform law, but won- 
derfully changed under his gifted pen. This law unanimously 
passed both houses of Cortes with such suspicious promptness, that 
it occasions no surprise to learn that it was a characteristically- 
Spanish reform, conceding absolutely nothing new. It would take 
too long to present its features, but in effect everything was still 
left in the control of the official classes and the governor-general. 

When we reflect on the broken promises with which the peace 
of ^anjon was purchased, that no real reform had been effected, 
that the terrible burdens of Cuba had been in no wise removed or 
lessened; when we consider the robbery of the whole island by the 
Spanish officials; when we call to mind the years of preparation 
and organization, the growing discontent of the people, the final 
disappointment when the heralded reforms of Abarzuza were made 
known, we need not wonder that the struggle v\^as renewed. Those 
who inaugurated the movement did not realize that they were 
opening a new chapter in the history of the world. They dreamed 
of independence; they could not have foreseen that the Republic of 
the North was to bring them that boon; was to drive the Spanish 
flag from the Western Hemisphere, and was to loosen the power 
of Spain over distant islands across the broad Pacific. 

It is not necessary to give a detailed accoimt of the war for its 
first three years or from its inception down to the spring of 1898. 
The storm broke in February, 1895, though the uprising was not 
at all serious before April, by which time Gomez and Maceo were 
in the field organizing their scantily equipped forces. Calleja, the 
governor-general, was hastily replaced by Marshal Campos, who 
was instrumental in bringing the former contest to a close. The 
movement of the Cubans for three years may be summed up as 
follows: Their forces were far too feeble to come to regular 
engagements with the Spanish forces. They had no commissary 
department, they were lacking in arms and ammunition, they could 
not capture or hold any important town, least of all any sea-port 
cities, since they had no navy. Their only hope was in wearing 
out the Spaniards, keeping them constantly guessing where they 
were, falling on small detachments here, capturing supply trains 
there, dynamiting railroads elsewhere, preventing Spain from 
realizing any revenue by destroying crops, and trusting to the 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 875 

deadly climate to kill off the Spanish forces. It was a saying 
among the Cubans that fever was their best general. As for the 
results achieved: Generals Gomez, Garcia and Maceo did all that 
could be expected from the very limited means at their command, 
and it is not for Americans who recall the exploits of Marion, 
during our War for Independence, to criticise their actions. 

With the exception of the towns, and the western province of 
Cuba, Pinar Del Rio — save for the campaign of Maceo — they did 
about as they pleased. Marched where they wanted to, fought 
when they wanted to, devStroyed such property as they deemed 
best, kept Havana itself in fear of attack, utterly wore out the 
Spanish forces that were vainly trying to pen them up, and were 
making rapid progress in bankrupting Spain. In the meantime 
their ' ' best general ' ' was actively engaged. The raw, unaccli- 
mated levies of Spain were poured into the island only to meet 
death in a combat with an unseen foe. The Americans know by 
experience at Santiago what hardship and exposure during the 
sickly season in Cuba signify. We can only imagine the terrible 
results in the Spanish army. 

On the Spanish side of the w^ar a darker chapter is to be read. 
The enfeebled nation clung to Cuba as though her very life depended 
on it. "The last dollar and the last man, " declared Canovas, was " 

the only response to be made to those who challenged the sov- 
ereignty of Spain, and with remorseless vigor he proceeded to make 
that declaration good. He transported two hundred thousand 
men over three thousand miles of ocean; and Spain, with bankruptcy 
staring her in the face, poured out money like water. Much of this 
energy was misdirected. It is asserted that fifty thousand drilled 
troops, honestly officered, properly armed and equipped, including 
hospital stores, could have speedily crushed the rebellion. But, 
alas for Spain! her deadliest foes were not in the Cuban ranks. 
Don Carlos gave expression to a melancholy truth when he spoke 
of "generously voted millions diverted from the fulfillment of 
their patriotic purposes to the pockets of fraudulent contractors 
and dishonest state employees, and disorder, peculation, and men- 
dacity in every department of the public service. ' ' Unless all 
accounts we have are wrong, the entire military class in Cuba 
looked on this war as their harvest time. We have only to recall 
the thirty-four million dollars admitted in public debates in the 



8/6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Cortes to have been stolen in the preceding war to understand the 
alacrity with which the military ring proceeded to gather in the 
spoils. 

Officers got double pay for services in the Cuban war. In 
April, 1897, there were in Cuba forty-seven generals, and about 
eleven thousand field and company officers, all drawing double pay 
while the war continued. The generals were stationed in the 
larger towns and ruled their departments as if they were conquer- 
ing heroes. They supplied, for a money consideration, of course, 
the guards for sugar planters and private property generally. 
An American sugar planter demurred at paying the contribution 
of some three thousand dollars demanded for guarding his prop- 
erty. "You make a crop every year," rejoined the 
colonel. "We only get a chance once in ten 3"ears. 
This is our harvest. ' ' This incident describes the 
general spirit. It was remarked during the war 
that the official reports of the number of sick 
and wounded were generally above the true num- 
ber, because that explained the large bills ren- 
dered for medicine and hospital supplies; but the 
number reported dead was way below the truth, 
l)ecause if the truth were told the men's names 
would come off the pa}^ rolls and the officers 
could no longer draw and pocket their pay, as 
they were doing. Most shameful stories could be 
told of peculation on all sides. The war was their 
larvest time, and they were making the most of it. 
And what shall we say as to the Spanish method 
of conducting the war from a humane standpoint? It is 
one of the saddest chapters in history. We do not refer so much 
■;:o the fact that no mercy was shown to the unfortunate prisoners 
taken in skirmishes, — it is well known, they were promptly shot, — 
but to the treatment of non-combatants. It was the deliberate 
impression of the Spaniards in Cuba, that the only way to end the 
war was to exterminate the entire Cuban population. Mr. Bonsai, 
in his book on Cuba, quotes conversations he had with influential 
Spaniards on that point. In 1896, a lieutenant-colonel of volun- 
teers, who passed for an honorable man, detailed 'to him and to Mr. 
Akers, correspondent of the London Times, the growing convic- 




GENERAL BLANCO. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 877 

tion of the Spaniards that the oniy way to save the island for Spain 
was ' ' a sudden rising en masse of the Spaniards in the towns and 
cities and the murder of all Cubans, something in the style of St. 
Bartholomew." But they explained that they had not yet gained 
the consent of the captain- general; however, they hoped to do that 
soon, and, in the meantime, they were preparing lists of Cubans. 
"We shall make very short work of them," he remarked, and 
coolly added, ' ' To do our w^ork properly and thoroughly, we will 
have to kill their wives and children. " Mr. Akers assured Mr. Bon- 
sal that he had long known such a plan was under consideration. 

But since such an act as this would not only cover Spain with 
eternal infamy, but would arouse such a storm of indignation that 
their existence as a nation would be threatened, it could not be 
allowed in the manner wished. The same result might be attained 
in another way; and this leads us to the crowning act of infamy 
on the part of the Spanish officials, the reconcentrado system of 
General Weyler. When General Campos was informed that General 
Weyler was to succeed him, he is said to have remarked, "Why, 
even the dead will rise from their graves to protest." We learn 
from Minister Taylor that the sole reason Weyler was appointed 
was because of his brutal method of warfare. "If Spaniards them- 
selves can be believed, " he remarks, "no more ruthless soldier than 
Weyler ever rode at the head of Spanish battalions since the dark 
days when Alva with his bloody hand strove to crush the life out 
of the Low Countries. ' ' 

The plan that General Weyler proceeded to put in execution 
was nothing more nor less than the extermination of the non-com- 
batants by starvation. In the fall of 1896 orders were issued to 
the military commanders of the four western provinces of Cuba to 
gather the non-combatants into certain specified stations of con- 
centration. !E)ight days were given the Pacificos in which to com- 
ply, after which the soldiers burned their houses, confiscated their 
horses and cattle, and took all that was worth taking. The 
trembling droves of old men, women and children were driven to 
the stations assigned them, generally situated in low-lying, swampy 
and malarial places. We must understand that no provision was 
made for their comfort; they had no supplies of any kind. By 
December, 1896, 400,000 had thus been concentrated in a series of 
starvation camps. No one, not even the most callous, can read 



SjS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the accounts of the awful scenes of misery that then ensued, un- 
moved. We shall make no attempt to recount them, but let each 
reader imagine the scene. Four hundred thousand people were 
being starved to death! In the year 1897, three hundred thousand 
are supposed to have died. These were not men taken in the 
act of rebellion, but old men unable to fight, innocent children, 
helpless women. It will be observed that this process, while it 
did not attract so much attention, bid fair to be quite as effective, 
and far more replete with long drawn out suffering, as the mas- 
sacre plan advocated by the volunteers, yet Canovas declared that 
" Weyler perfectl}^ represented the policy of the home govern- 
ment." After the death of Canovas, Weyler was recalled, but 
Blanco made no change in policy. 

In the beginning of 1898, the situation in Cuba was deplorable 
in the extreme. An astonishing number of small forts had been 
built by the Spaniards all over Cuba. Kvery little village was 
provided with several. They were literally strung along the rail- 
roads, and two great lines of them stretched across the country, 
constituting the trochas. It is stated that it required about 150,- 
000 soldiers to garrison these multitudinous forts. The rest of 
the Spanish army was aimlessly marched about from one fortified 
place to another; on rare occasions they had little brushes with the 
insurgents, but in general they busied themselves in murdering what 
few pacificos they met and destroyed what little property they 
came across, that had in some unaccountable way thus far escaped. 

The non-combatants gathered in starvation camps were being 
rapidly exterminated. The bands of insurgents pursued their usual 
course. The entire country was fast becoming a desert waste. 
Agricultural interests were ruined. Trade and commerce, except 
for necessities, were at a standstill. The terrible exertions Spain 
had put forth were fast telling on her. But on the other hand, the 
insurgents seemed to have about done their work. It is quite prob- 
able with the dying groan of the last reconcentrado it would have 
been found that for the time being the fire of war had burned 
itself out, and ruined Spain would have remained in possession 
of the ruined island; but then suddenly there was an explosion in 
Havana harbor, w^hich not only wrecked the battle ship Maine, but 
blew the Spanish flag from the Western Hemisphere. 

It is necessary to inquire as to the interests of America in 




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(879) 



88o HISTORY OP THK UNITED STATES. 

Cuba. John Quincy Adams, when Secretary of State in 1823, l^^d 
occasion to express himself as follows: "Its commanding position 
with reference to the Gulf of Mexico and the West India Seas; its 
situation midway between our Southern Coast and the Island of 
St. Domingo; its safe and capacious harbor of Havana, fronting 
a long line of our shores, destitute of the same advantage; the 
nature of its production and of its wants, furnishing the supplies and 
needing the returns of a commerce immensely profitable and mutuall}^ 
beneficial, give it an importance in the sum of our national interests 
with which that of no other foreign territory can be compared, 
and little inferior to that which binds the different members of 
this Union together. Such indeed are, between the interest of that 
island and this countr3% the geographical, commercial, moral and 
political relations formed, gathering in the process of time, and 
even now verging to maturity, that, in looking forward to the 
probable course of events for the short period of half a century, 
it is scarcely possible to resist the conviction that the annexation 
of Cuba to our Federal Republic will be indispensable to the 
continuance and integrity of the Union itself. ' ' 

This expresses what had been the almost general feeling in 
the United States ever since Spain began to have trouble with her 
American possession. We had, however, been willing that Spain 
should retain her sovereignty over Cuba, but had warned her and 
Kurope generally that we would not consent to her resigning the 
island to any other Kuropean power. Still it seems to have been 
generally expected in E^urope that sooner or later w^e would attempt 
to acquire Cuba. The political writers of fifty and sixty years 
ago were quite sure that Cuba would be a bone of contention. 
English writers, in the old days before we learned each other's 
good points, never tired of asserting that we had avaricious designs 
on Cuba. A celebrated pamphlet in 1819 warned Great Britain 
of the danger to their commerce should the United States be 
allowed to acquire Florida and Cuba. The remedy urged was for 
Great Britain to seize the island herself! In 1852, France and 
England desired the United States to join with them in guaran- 
teeing the possession of Cuba to Spain. In reply, they were told 
that while this country did not court the acquisition of Cuba, still 
we could not for one moment admit that their interests in Cuba 
were identical with ours. 



HISTORY OF THK UNITKD STATES. 88 1 

In slave -holding- days there were constant discussions as to 
the desirability of getting- control of Cuba by purchavse or other- 
wise. President Polk offered Spain one hundred million dollars 
for Cuba, only to have his offer promptly declined. The simple 
fact is, a party in the United States desired the acquisition of Cuba 
since it would increase the importance of the slave-holding states. 
It was this influence which furthered the filibustering expeditions 
of Lopez. So important for their purposes was deemed the 
acquisition of Cuba, that, in 1S54, President Pierce directed our 
Ministers at Madrid, London and Paris to deliberate together over 
the matter. The result was the Ostend Manifesto, in which they 
advised the purchase of Cuba, accompan34ng our offer with the 
distinct threat that if it were not accepted we should take other 
measures. They declared that, "the Union can never enjoy repose, 
nor possess reliable security as long as Cuba is not embraced within 
its boundaries." This manifesto excited as much disturbance 
within the United States as anywhere else. Slavery, however, 
was soon eliminated as a factor in the case, and we hear nothing 
particularly about Cuba until the ten years' war. 

In 1873 occurred the Virginius affair, which came very near 
involving the United States and Spain. The facts are, the Vir- 
ginius, on a filibustering expedition, was captured by the Spanish, 
taken into Santiago de Cuba, and in accordance with Spain's usual 
bloodthirsty methods, the captain and crew were promptly con- 
demned to be shot. In accordance with this, the captain and 
fifty- two men were executed. Ninety-three more were under sen- 
tence of death, when the British war ship, Niobe, summoned from 
Jamaica by the British Consul, steamed at full speed into the har- 
bor, and threatened to bombard the city if the massacre were 
allowed to continue. War seemed inevitable, but the Virginius 
was on an unlawful expedition, diplomacy got to work, the vessel 
and surviving crew were surrendered, a small indemnity was 
allowed; and, in the cemetery of Santiago, these fifty- three mur- 
dered Americans rested for twenty-five years, and then American 
cannons, raining shot and shell into Santiago, thundered the long 
delayed military salute over their graves, and the prophecy of the 
British Consul came true, "Some day Spain will bitterly regret 
what she is doing." 

Near the close of the ten years' war, there was further talk 



882 HISTORY OF THE U:NITED STATES. 

about buying Cuba, or at any rate guaranteeing the debt of the 
island if Spain would grant her independence; but language of a 
more ominous import for the further rule of Spain began to be 
heard: the word ' ' intervention ' ' was used. Owing to the nature of 
events, our location, our resources, the character of our population, 
it was evident to European statesmen, from the very moment we 
achieved independence, that we Avere to assume a position of supreme 
influence in the affairs of the New World. The Old World nations 
have long put forth a doctrine known as the Balance of Power, by 
which is recognized the right to interfere on the part of all nations, 
in affairs directly, and for the time being, concerning only two, to 
the end that the rights of all may be safeguarded. Thus, to 
illustrate, the Berlin Congress at the close of the Russo-Turkish 
war, when other powers interfered in the settlement of difficulties 
directl}^ concerning Russia and Turkey. They were justified in 
so doing since, if Russia could have worked her will and pleasure 
on Turkey, she might have placed herself in position to do injury 
to the rights of others. Similarly, at the close of the war between 
Japan and China, and, more recently, between Turkey and Greece. 
The United States analogue of the li^uropean Balance of Power is 
the Monroe Doctrine, in which we, as flowing from our peculiar 
position and influence, took upon ourselves the formidable burden 
of safeguarding the rights and liberties of the turbulent republics 
of the New World, for, in so doing, we conserved our own rights, 
bearing in mind the Kuropean international maxim, "Look well to 
the independence of your neighbors, even the most remote, if 3'ou 
wish to preserve your own. ' ' 

Thus the Monroe Doctrine is the evolution of the Balance of 
Power theory of Kurope, made necessary by the peculiar state of 
affairs in the New World, promulgated by President Monroe. 
This doctrine was respected by France and the Holy Alliance of 
Russia, Austria and Prussia in 1823, ^vhen we warned them not to 
interfere in the case of the revolted provinces of Spain. It was 
this doctrine which rudely dissipated the dreams of the Third 
Napoleon of a Latin Kmpire in Mexico. To this doctrine President 
Cleveland resorted in the Venezuela boundary dispute with Great 
Britain. It was this doctrine finally which forbade Spain to dispose 
of Cuba to any other power, and equally forbade any other power 
to interfere between Cuba and Spain. But this commanding atti- 



HISTORY OF THK UNITED STATES. S83 

tude on our part devolved on us a corresponding duty. In forbid- 
ding others to interfere we must hold ourselves ready to perform 
that duty, should occasion arise. President Cleveland recognized 
this in the following language: "When the inability of Spain to 
deal successfully with the insurrection has become manifest, and 
it is demonstrated that her sovereignty is extinct in Cuba for all 
purposes of its rightful existence; and when a hopeless struggle 
for its re-establishment has degenerated into a strife which means 
nothing more than the useless sacrifice of human life and the utter 
destruction of the very subject matter of the conflict, a situation 
will be presented in which our obligations to the sovereignty of 
Spain will be superseded by higher obligations which we can hardly 
hesitate to recognize and discharge." 

In 1827, Gi-reat Britain, France and Russia interfered between 
Turkey and Greece. The preamble to the agreement of the three 
powers only needs a change of name to fit the case of this country 
and Spain in the spring of 1898. "Penetrated with the necessity 
of putting an end to the sanguinary contest which by delivering 
up the Greek Provinces and the isles of the Archipelago produces 
daily fresh impediment to the commerce of the Kuropean States 
and gives occasion to piracies which not onh^ expose the subjects 
of the high contracting powers to considerable loSvSes but besides 
renders necessary burdensome measures of protection and repres- 
sion. " In view of these facts the powers intervened. 

It was evident to the niOvSt casual observer, at the dawnino- of 
1898, that all the portents in the political sky were most ominous. 
In Cuba, Spain's long years of misrule were drawing to a fright- 
ful close. A nation was being starved to death. Cuba was being 
converted into an island of ruins. The vast commercial interests of 
the United States in Cuba were prostrated. The future of Cuba 
seemed nowhere lit up with hope, the ruin of Spain politically and 
financially seemed certain. The "inability of Spain to deal suc- 
cessfully with the insurrection ' ' seemed demonstrated. It seemed 
clear that ' ' her sovereignty was extinct for all purposes of its 
rightful existence. ' ' It was abundantly manifest that the strife 
had degenerated into a "useless sacrifice of human life." The 
"utter destruction of the very subject matter of the conflict" 
(Cuba) was imminent. A situation had arisen in which our obli- 
gations to Spain were superseded by ' ' higher obligations, ' ' and we 

50 



884 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



could no longer "hesitate to recognize and discharge them." As 
President McKinley informed the assembled ambassadors of 
Kurope, ' ' the situation had become insufferable. ' ' 

.With all signs pointing to the coming trouble with Spain, 
few believed we were to have war until it was actually upon us. 
President Cleveland, in his annual message of 1896, announced that 
"it could not be expected that the hitherto expectant attitude of 
the United States would be indefinitely maintained," but on the 
contrary ' ' a time may arrive when a correct policy and care for our 
interests as well as regard for the interests of other nations " would 
compel our government to action. President McKinley attempted 
to carry out the same lines of policy. Canovas, the prime 
minister of Spain, a most able man, but typically a 
Spaniard in ideas of government, who had upheld 
Weyler, was assassinated in August, 1897, and 
after a brief ad interUn ministry, Sagasta came 
into power. He recalled Weyler and appointed 
General Blanco. The hope was speedily expressed 
that arrangements would be made to relieve much 
of the misery in Cuba, possibly to pacify the 
island. This hope was heightened when, later 
in the fall, a scheme of autonomy was announced 
for Cuba, to take effect with the new year. Then 
it became evident that the * ' Manana ' ' policy of 
Spain had ruined the island. She had waited too long. 
The insurgents, distrustful of Spanish promises, 
and believing they would soon achieve independence, did 
not care for the late-extended offer of autonomy. A large party 
in Spain, and the whole Spanish party in Cuba, were bitterly 
opposed to the concessions. As General Weyler styled it, it ' ' was 
a cowar.dly concession to Yankee demands." A stronger objec- 
tion was that, if effective, it would largely put an end to the 
robbery in Cuba on which the whole official class thrived. In the 
United States, public opinion as expressed in Congress regarded 
this offer as an evasion of the real issue on the part of Spain. 
Influential leaders in Congress were constantly agitating for some 
form of intervention; and only with difficulty could the administra- 
tive prevent such action by Congress as would make the trial of 
autonomy impossible. 




GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



885 



The year 1898 opened in Cuba with autonomy nominally put 
in effect, though not recognized by the insurgents, and to the 
growing discontent of the volunteers, whose capacity for mischief, 
as we have seen, was very great. In January, this discontent led 
to rioting in Havana. Partly occasioned by these riots, and partly 
under the impression that the presence of a war ship in the harbor 
might cool the fever of the volunteers, and since it could not be 
regarded as a hostile act, the United States battle ship ]\Iaine was 
ordered to visit Havana, and on the morning of Januar}- 25, 
dropped anchor in the harbor, amidst the booming of salutes, 
accompanied by official visits and all outward marks of respect. It 
was noticed, however, that the Spanish element in Havana 
was ' ' sullen. ' ' Yet, as time passed, it seemed as if 
good effects were flowing from the visit. Havana 
was quiet. Karly in February, the cruiser Mont- 
gomery visited Matanzas. February 9th came 
the De Lome incident. The Spanish Minister, De 
Lome, in a private letter, took occasion to slur 
President McKinley, and seemed to imply in 
his letter that Spain was not acting in good faith. 
Unfortunately for De Lome, this letter was stolen 
from the mail and published. This unsettled 
everything for a while, and rendered necessary the 
resignation of De Lome. 

Considerinof the difficulties confrontinjjr 
in Spain, the proud, sensitive spirit of the Spanish peopk 
the impatience of Congress, the sufferings in Cuba, the 
officially pronounced statement that if war was not ended soon 
the United States must interfere, it is not singular that the rela- 
tions between the two countries were rapidlv coming to be, as 
diplomatically expressed, strained. Then like a bolt from the clear 
sky came the destruction of the Maine. Shortlv after nine o'clock 
the evening of February 15th, when all was quiet in the harbor, 
there was a terrible explosion which shook the entire cit}^, and sent 
the fire engines scurrying in various directions; however, the glare 
of fire soon dispelled all doubts; the Maine had been destroved, more 
than two hundred and fifty marines had lost their lives. This 
disaster shocked the whole world. Messages of sympathy poured 
in on the nation. The effect on the United States was marked. 



Sag 




GENERAL MULES. 



886 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Intense excitement for the moment and then a most ominous calm- 
ness. The whole countr}" accepted the advice of Captain Sigsbee, 
of the Maine. It was a time to know and not to think; we wanted 
facts. The six weeks following the explosion were amongst the 
most memorable in our history. A Board of Inquiry was at once 
appointed, at the head of which was Captain Sampson, afterwards 
acting rear-admiral. The spectacle was to be seen of two nations, 
each officially proclaiming that peace would continue, that nothing 
had happened to shake their friendship, openly making prepara- 
tions for war. 

Instant preparations were begun by the United States. It 
was noticed that our navy was gathering at one 
place. Our ships were coming home from Kurope, 
from South America, across the continent, the 
Oregon suddenly started south at full speed, while 
at Hong Kong our Pacific Squadron was gathering. 
Powder mills and ordnance factories commenced 
running nights, army officers found their vacations 
cut short, navy yards were crowded with work- 
men not only days and nights but Sunday as well. 
After the explosion, scarcely two weeks elapsed 
before our country, and E)urope as well, was elec- 
trified by the unanimous passage through both 
houses of Congress of a bill placing in President 
McKinle3^'s hands, to dispose of as he saw fit, 
$50,000,000 for defense. Messengers were dis- 
patched to Kurope to purchase naval vessels if 
any could be found, and two were thus secured from Brazil. Guns 
and war material of all kinds were secured, and this country w^as 
a scene of feverish activity. Harbors were mined; coast defenses 
strengthened. While the Board of Inquiry was leisurely taking 
testimony, having drawings made, and journeying back and forth 
from Havana to Key West, coal and ammunition were being hurried 
southward. Our war ships, which formerly had scarcely enough 
powder for saluting purposes, saw their magazines hurriedly filled. 
Across the continent went a freight train at express speed convey- 
ing ammunition to San Francisco to be sent across the Pacific to 
our Asiatic Squadron. Kach passing hour saw our country better 
prepared. 




CAPTAIN SIGSBEE. 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



887 



Weeks passed, and still no report from the Board, to the sur- 
prise of many who did not understand the condition confronting 
the country. President McKinley needed time, not only to prepare 
the country for war, but, if possible, to preserve the peace. The 
problem confronting the administration was a complex one. It was 
recognized that decisive action on the part of Congress could not 
be long delayed, and yet unless the explosion could be brought 
home to Spain, it, in itself, was no cause for war. The condition 
of the insurrection was such that we could neither recognize their 
independence nor grant them belligerent rights. There remained 
only intervention on general principles, for w^hich the whole world 
recognized we had sufficient ground. President 
McKinley, anxious to preserve peace, determined 
to exhaust every means at his disposal in holding 
back Congress on the one hand, and in endeavoring 
to induce Spain to peacefully acquiesce in the 
independence of Cuba on the other. 

March 28th, the report of the Board was 
received, showing, what had come to be an open 
secret in the United States, that the Maine was 
destroyed by an external explosion, but the Board 
was unable to determine the responsibility there- 
for. Arrangements were made before this report 
was sent to Congress — accompanied by a message 
from the President — to have it at once referred 
to the appropriate committees, in the hopes that 
in the meantime Spain would see the necessity 
of yielding to our wishes. Two weeks passed, during which time 
it would have occasioned no surprise any day to have learned that 
war had been declared. At length, after exhausting every means 
at his command, on the nth of April, President McKinley sent a 
message to Congress, in which he set forth all the facts of the 
case, and left to the judgment of Congress the plan to be pursued. 
For eight days the world waited while the two houses of Congress 
were coming to an agreement. Finally, April 19, 1898, the two 
houses united in a joint resolution directing the President to employ 
the land and naval forces of the United States in procuring peace 
in Cuba. This resolution was communicated to Spain, accompanied 
by what amounted to an ultimatum from the United States, that 




ADMIRAL WM. T. SAMPSON. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the Spanish forces forthwith evacuate Cuba. This led to the 
prompt suspension of diplomatic relations, and for the first time 
in fifty years the United States was at war with a foreign power. 

When Admiral Sampson's powerful squadron steamed away 
in the early morning of April 22, 1898; and when, the following 
day, the President called for 125,000 volunteers, all eyes were 
fixed on Havana as the place around which the war would center. 
Almost unnoticed, however, events were shaping in the Orient, 
and the Bay of Manilla was destined to be the scene of one of the 
most remarkable naval victories ever achieved, which caused an 
instant widening of our martial horizon, and which marked the 
entrance of the United States into the area of world-wide politics. 
For the present, then, let us turn our attention to the Phillipines. 

The Phillipines is the name of an extensive archipelago, 
consisting of possibly twelve hundred islands, only a very few of 
which are of any size, the largest being in area about the size of 
Ohio, known as the Island of Luzon. They are situated about six 
hundred miles in a south-easterly direction from Hong Kong, in 
about the same latitude as Central America. They have remained 
a Spanish possession ever since their discovery, the seat of govern- 
ment being the city of Manilla, on the west coast of the Island of 
Luzon. It has a population of about 250,000, and has great 
importance from a commercial standpoint. The Bay of Manilla 
is a beautiful land-locked harbor some twenty-five miles in width. 
The population of the group of islands is variously estimated at 
from seven to fifteen millions, composed principally of tribes of the 
Makiy stock. A great man}^ Chinese have been attracted to the 
island, and there is a large population of mixed blood. The white 
population is mostly Spanish. Tobacco and hemp are the princi- 
pal products of Luzon and the larger islands, but sugar and coffee 
abound. Little that is reliable is known as to the natural resources 
of the islands. Like all Spanish possessions, the Phillipines have 
been most wretchedly governed. The}^ have also suffered from 
the short-sighted restrictive polic}^ of Spain, which was such a 
drawback to the development of the American colonies. They 
also groaned under most oppressive taxation. It is necessary to 
remark that the church holds its power in the Phillipines to this 
day. The church literally owns the islands, and is enormously 
wealthy. In many respects, the civil power is actually subject to 



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890 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the religious order. We are not surprised to learn that there 
have been insurrections in the Phillipines against Spain, the same 
as in Cuba, and for the same reason. One, under the lead of 
Aguinaldo, was in progress in 1897. The insurgent chiefs were 
bought off by Spain in the fall of 1897, by the payment to them of 
$400,000 in money and the promise of reforms in government, 
which promises, they claim, have been broken. 

When hostilities broke out our Asiatic squadron was gathered 
at Hong Kong. It consisted of four protected cruisers, the Bos- 
ton, Olympia, Baltimore, Raleigh, and two gun-boats, the Concord 
and Petrel, one dispatch boat and two supply ships, all under the 
command of Commodore George Dewey. The 
Spanish squadron, under command of Admiral 
Montojo, consisting of seven cruisers, only two, 
however, approaching in effectiveness the Ameri- 
can cruisers, two small gun-boats and a dispatch 
boat, was stationed at Manilla. It was most 
essential for the safety of our Asiatic commerce, 
to Honolulu, then to all intents and purposes a 
part of the United States, and to our Pacific 
Coast cities, that this fl.eet be put out of the fight. 
Instructions w^ere sent to Commodore Dewey to 
"destroy or capture" the Spanish fleet. It was 
therefore soon known at Manilla that the Ameri- 
can squadron would soon sail for that point. 

In quite the usual spirit of Spanish brag- 
gadocio, the officials at Manilla speedily brought 
themselves to believe they would annihilate the Americans. The 
British consul was invited by the Spanish admiral to be his 
guest on his flag-ship so as to secure a good view of the perform- 
ance. Quarters were prepared for the prisoners they were so 
sure of taking; and extra crews were secured to man the vessels 
they were to take. Governor-general Augusti issued a ridiculously 
bombastic proclamation asserting that "The North American 
people, constituted of all social excrescences, have exhausted our 
patience and have provoked war by their perfidious machinations, 
their acts of treachery, their outrages against the laws of nations 
and international conventions. The struggle will be short and 
decisive. The God of victories will give us one as brilliant and 




ADMIRAL GEORGE OEWEY, 




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892 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

complete as the justice of our cause demands. Her squadron, 
manned by foreigners, possessing neither instruction nor discipline, 
is preparing to come to this archipelago with ruffianly intentions, 
robbing us of all that means life, honor and liberty, and pretend- 
ing to be inspired by a courage of which the}^ are incapable. ' ' 
The screed wound up by the assertion that " United under the 
glorious Spanish flag, which is covered with laurels " victory was 
to be their portion. 

Having made all preparations, Commodore Dewey left Mirs 
Bay, thirty miles from Hong Kong, the afternoon of April 27th, 
for Manilla. Shortly before midnight Sunday, May ist, the sudden 
sound of guns on Corregidor Island at the entrance to the harbor 
of Manilla announced that the squadron "manned by foreigners," 
truly inspired by a courage of which they were said to be des- 
titute, were then actually passing the forts, on their way to the 
city of Manilla, and though "possessing neither instruction nor 
discipline " were only awaiting the coming dawn to try conclusions 
with Montojo's fleet, backed up as it would be with the forts at 
Manilla and Cavite, the latter being a suburb a few miles below 
Manilla, where the Spaniards had built forts, dry-docks, arsenals, 
etc. Following this bold move came one of the most brilliant vic- 
tories ever achieved by American arms. Within seven hours after 
opening the attack, not a single Spanish vessel was afloat, Cavite 
had surrendered, some hundreds of the Spanish forces had been 
killed and wounded, and Manilla itself was at the mercy of Ameri- 
can guns. Almost incredible to relate, not a single American had 
been killed, and only eight were wounded. Not a single American 
ship had received any damages worth mentioning. During an 
intermission in the battle, when Commodore Dewey retired to rest 
his men and give them breakfast, the Spanish general hastened to 
cable to Spain a characterivstically misleading dispatch. "Our 
fleet engaged the enemy in a brilliant combat, protected by the 
Cavite and Manilla forts. They obliged the enemy with heavy 
loss to manoeuvre repeatedly." It was this dispatch which ren- 
dered it difficult for Admiral Bermejo, the minister of marine, 
to restrain his "joyful emotions." But soon more reliable dis- 
patches were at hand, and the queen regent could only acknowl- 
edge that it was a "sad but honorable day for Spain." 

It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of this victory 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 893 

to America. The more or less ominous rumors of interference on 
the part of one or more nations were suddenly hushed. They plainly 
saw the hand- writing on the wall that foreshadowed defeat for 
Spain. The American navy which the Kuropean nations had 
regarded with scarcely concealed contempt was instantly acknowl- 
edged to be "man for man, and ship for ship" the equal of any 
navy afloat. In the clearer light of this victory, our "old tubs," 
' ' mutinous sailors, ' ' and ' ' incompetent officers ' ' appeared quite 
different. It was also clear that America had suddenly opened to 
her a wonderful field of possibilities. Now she could be, if she 
iesired, a mighty power in the Pacific. Statesmen have long 
recognized that the Pacific Ocean with the countries bordering it 
are destined to be, in the near future, the theater of the greatest 
:ommercial activity the world has ever seen. Karly civilization 
md commerce found expression only in the Mediterranean; thence, 
yreatly enlarged, it flowed out into and took possession of the 
A^tlantic. But, "w^estward the star of empire takes its course," 
md scholars and statesmen know that all that has gone before will 
Dale into insignificance before the fast approaching development of 
:he Pacific. The great nations of Kurope have been engaged in a 
iiplomatic struggle to obtain a share in this commerce. At one 
Dound the United States had won a position that might easily 
become one of commanding importance in this development. Thus 
:he whole aspect of the war was suddenly changed. All this was 
:he result of one naval victory, obtained by American ships, under 
:ommand of Commodore George Dewey. He entered the battle 
)ut little known. He emerged with the thanks of Congress, sub- 
stantial promotion, the plaudits of an admiring world, the secure 
possessor of immortal fame. 

We must now return to Cuba, the immediate object of the 
A^ar. Flushed with victory, the cry now was "On to Havana!" 
rhe well known impatience of America was now exemplified. 
President McKinley had called for 150,000 volunteers. The 
popular mind seemed to have forgotten that to raise, drill, arm 
md equip such a force of men properly required months of time, 
[mmense quantities of stores had to be procured and shipped to 
southern points. With an energy that challenged the admiration 
)f the world, we hurried the organization of our forces. The 
railroads leading south were gorged with trains conveying troops 



894 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and supplies to the sea-board. While the papers were full of talk 
about invading Cuba with a mighty host and striking one death- 
blow, officials and well informed people knew this could not be done 
before fall; besides, it would be suicidal to send an army to Cuba 
before the rainy season was over. These plans were suddenly 
changed by the action of Spain. That country, after rallying from 
the shock of Manilla, flattered itself that, after all, Dewey could 
not take the city of Manilla. In the meantime, Kuropean nations 
would surely intervene to prevent the United States from acquiring 
the Philippines. So amidst considerable talk about fighting to the 
* ' bitter end, ' ' and heroic resolves that ' ' not one inch of Spanish 
territory should ever be relinquished," Spain professed to feel 
confident that victory awaited their really formidable fleet, which 
had already sailed from Cape Verde Islands, and which it was 
expected would bombard our coast cities, destroy our commerce and 
sink our fleet. 

Owing to the press censorship no reliable news could be 
obtained as to the movement of the Spanish fleet. The most con- 
tradictory rumors \vere afloat. One day, we were assured that the 
fleet was on the way; the next day, that it had not started; the third, 
that it had Returned to Spain. It was rumored off the coast of 
Nova Scotia; then at San Juan, Porto Rico; finally that it was on 
the way around Cape Horn to lay San Francisco in ashes. At 
length, information that seemed reliable asserted that the fleet 
was approaching San Juan, Porto Rico, and Admiral Sampson 
with some of our strongest battle ships started for that city May 
5th. On reaching the destination, no opposing fleet was to be 
found, and so the Americans contented themselves with bombard- 
ing the fortifications in the harbor, and then stood out to sea to 
await ne^vs from the scouting ships. It was not until May 13th, 
that definite news was obtained of the Spanish fleet, on which 
date it arrived at Martinique. It was next located at Curacoa off 
the coast of Venezuela, and finally, Ma}^ 20th it arrived at Santiago 
de Cuba. Por some reason, this performance of the Spanish fleet 
under the command of Admiral Cervera was considered a brilliant 
achievement in Spain and portions of Kurope. The Spanish marine 
minister claimed it was an "immense triumph for Spain. " All 
Spain rang with praise for Admiral Cervera's "brilliant moves." 
He was received in Santiago like a conqueror. The civil governor 



HISTORY OF THE U:S'ITED STATES. 895 

took occasion at a banquet to remark of the threatened American 
invasion that the greater number of invaders that came, ' ' the 
greater number of carcasses to enrich our fields. ' ' The archbishop 
patriotically remarked: "It is not sufficient to be victorious on 
the sea. The Spanish flag must float on the capitol. " And yet, 
all Cervera had thus far done was to get himself securely ' ' bottled 
up." The united fleets of Admiral Sampson and Commodore 
Schley were off the port of Santiago, and there was no chance for 
the Spanish fleet to escape. 

But though "bottled up," he was for the time being safe. 
Owing to the natural features of the harbor, the American fleet 
could not get at him. The channel leading in from the 
ocean is narrow and tortuous, extending between 
promontories to the harbor itself, at the head 
which is situated Santiago, six miles from the 
ocean. The channel, in some places only about 
three hundred feet in width, was heavily mined 
and commanded by formidable batteries. It 
was at once seen that the onh^ "^vay to dislodge 
Cervera was to bring heavy guns to bear from 
the land side. This necessitated an arm}^ to 
operate against Santiago. Accordingly plans 
were laid for immediate invasion of Cuba, but this 
time at Santiago. The 31st of May, orders were 
issued to General Shatter to embark 15,000 troops 
and proceed to Cuba. But it was nearly two w 
before the expedition left. It required much valuable admiral cervera. 
time to get everything read}', and then there were alarming rumors 
of Spanish war vessels waiting to attack the transports. Accord- 
ingly arrangements had to be made for a convo}', but the expedition 
sailed June 12th. Kight days later, a most imposing arrav of 
transports appeared off Santiago. General Shatter's army had 
arrived, the long expected invasion had begun. But even then, 
such are the vast preparations that have to be made for an army; 
and considering the fact, that less than two months had elapsed 
since the volunteer portion of the army had been engaged in peace- 
ful avocations at home, it is not strange that some blundering ^vas 
made in caring for the health and comfort of the army, and thereby 
much suffering was caused and many lives sacrificed. One of the 




896 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




■LL 



COMMODORE SCHLEY, 




lessons of the war is that we must hereafter be 
prepared. As it was, the ability, bravery and 
patriotism of our vsoldiers won a most glorious 
victory, in spite of obstacles which made the 
military attaches of every foreign government 
doubtful of our success. 

Consider the difficulties ahead of our troops. 
Some thousands of drilled Spanish veterans were 
supposed to be ready to contest their landing, 
unless they landed at Guantanamo Bay, some forty 
miles away, where a small force of marines were 
obstinately holding a landing they had made. 
Once landed, they would be confronted with a 
broken, hilly country, the hills and slopes covered 
with a tropical jungle. No roads worth mention- 
ing over which to march and transport their heavy 
guns and supplies. They would be confronted v/ith all the distress 
and danger necessarily incident to a campaign in a tropical island, 
in the wet unhealthy season of the year. In spite 
of all these obstacles our army landed, began 
their resistless advance, coUvStructing roads as 
they went, in tropical sunshine and storms, 
through the jungles, over the hills, across the 
rivers, until the morning of July ist, one week 
after landing, the Americans confronted the 
Spanish forces in their last line of intrenchments, 
not far from Santiago itself; the most memor- 
able event of this surprising week being the 
gallant fight of Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the 
ambuscade of La Quasina, where they compelled 
a vSUperior force to retreat. Then came two 
terrible days, July ist and 2nd, in front of Santi- 
ago. When the sun rose July 3rd, the Ameri- 
can lines almost surrounded Santiago. But a 
strongly fortified city was right before them. I^xpose was telling, 
and the ravages of sickness were making great inroads on our 
forces. Though the entire country was resounding with exulting 
plaudits, at the wonderful fighting that gained the victory at San. 
Juan; though foreign military attaches were unstinted in their I 




HISTORY OF THE UNITKD STATES. 



S97 



expressed admiration of the bravery and ability of our soldiers, 
yet, for a while on that memorable July 3rd, it seemed as if our 
advance must stop, if indeed we would not have to fall back for 
reinforcement. A feeling" of anxiety and gloom overspread the 
entire country. Our government regarded the situation around 
Santiago as critical. But this situation v^as instantly changed, 
by one of the most important naval victories ever achieved, to 
understand which we must retrace our steps some days. 

The primary object of this campaign was to destroy the 
Spanish fleet. It was feared that a severe storm might disperse 
the American ships, and before they could 'gather again the 
Spanish admiral might escape. To prev^ent this, 
Lieutenant Hobson, with a crew of eight men, 
in charge of the collier Merrimac, on the morning 
of June 4th undertook to block the channel at its 
narrowest point. He failed in accomplishing his 
object, but none the less he performed one of the 
bravest feats in the annals of the American navy. 
He sank- his ship, but not in quite the desired 
position. The brave lieutenant and crew, who 
faced almost certain death, miraculously escaped 
destruction but were taken prisoners. 

Admiral Cervera, in kindly treating these 
prisoners, and in chivalrously notifying Admiral 
Sampson of their safety, was unconsciously ' ' cast- 
ing his bread upon the waters, ' ' destined, in his 
case, to return in very few days. In proportion 
as Shafter's lines closed in on the cit}-, Cervera's position became 
critical. If he stayed in the harbor until the American guns could 
be placed in position on the neighboring hills, his destruction was 
certain. In short, whatever cause for anxiety existed in the 
American ranks, were intensified as regards the Spanish forces. 
The fleet seemed doomed to destruction or capture. Provisions 
in the city were scarce. There was much sickness and consequent 
suffering. The Americans were at the very gates of the city. Then 
it was that Admiral Cervera, impelled by the positive orders of 
the Spanish government, took the one remaining desperate chance 
to save his fleet, or at least a portion of it. 

On the morning of July 3rd, the American fleet was lazily 




LIEUTENANT RiCHARD P. HOBSON. 



898 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 





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lying at anchor about six miles off the entrance to Santiago har- 
bor. The New York, the flag ship of Admiral Sampson, had 
steamed to the east on a leisurel}'- tour of inspection. The Sabbath 
calm was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of an armored 
cruiser under full steam coming out of the harbor. Instantly all 
was motion on the part of the Americans. Without losing a 
moment of time, anchors were raised and the crews prepared for 
action, as the ships began to close in toward the shore. Following 
the first cruiser, the other three appeared at short intervals, and 
then the torpedo boats. Turning to the west the cruisers attempted 
to gain the open sea and safety. Then occurred one of the most 

remarkable and decisive 
navLil battles ever 
fouo-ht. endinof four 
hours later bv the com- 
plete destruction of the 
Spanish fleet. Not one 
vessel escaped. Admiral 
Cervera and thirteen 
hundred of his officers 
and crew were captured. 
In this instance there Avas 
no question but that the 
American fleet was by 
far the stronger of the 
two fleets, but consider- 
ing that the Spanish squadron was composed of four formidable 
cruisers, and that they were swifter than any vesvsel opposed to them 
excepting the Brooklyn, it is strange that none of them escaped, 
and passing strange that while they were completely destroyed the 
utmost they could do was to inflict merely nominal damages on the 
American fleet. But one American was killed and two wounded. 
This battle may be described as the death, blow to the cause 
of Spain. All that followed was, on the part of the United 
States, gathering in the fruits of the victory, and taking such 
further steps as they deemed best; on the part of Spain, despairing 
struggles against the end now plainly in sight, and vSeeking some 
way to end the war consonant with their ideas of honor. Santi- 
ago surrendered July i6th. There was, however, no fighting after 



■-— ■/ ■'I'^pi 



U. S. FLAG SHIP NEW YORK. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 899 

the naval victory. It required that length of time for Spain to 
consent to the inevitable and save further sacrifice of life. The 
entire nation had been so buoyed up by misleading dispatches from 
Cuba, all telling of "brilliant victories" around Santiago, or of 
American attacks, "brilliantly repulsed with heavy losses," and 
they had become so enthused over the "brilliant sortie" of 
Admiral Cervera, who had "put to sea the moment he thought 
it best," and had "probably gone to Havana," that they could 
scarcely face the inevitable. The surrender included not only the 
city of Santiago, but about one-third the province of that name. 
(The troops that surrendered were not only those in Santiago, but 
in the entire district 
surrendered.) Thus the 
Santiago campaign came 
to a glorious end. Ad- 
miral Cervera 's fleet had 
been destroved. In the 
face of almost insur- 
mountable obstacles, a 
force of barely twenty 
thousand men had com- 
pelled the surrender of 
twenty-four thousand 
well armed troops, in 
strongly fortified posi- 
tions. "^The one condi- u. s. flag ship Brooklyn. 
tion of the surrender was that the Spanish prisoners were to be 
transported to Spain at the expense of the American government. 
A few days later the curious spectacle was observed of the Ameri- 
can gOA'ernment contracting with a Spanish transportation com- 
pan}^ to take to Spain the soldiers that surrendered to our arms. 

The remaining incidents of the war can be briefly recounted: 
For political reasons, since we were going to demand the cession 
of Porto Rico, the authorities were anxious to have a force on 
that island, when the proposition for peace should be received. 
Accordingly, General Miles with an invading expedition landed near 
Ponce, on the southern coast, July 25th. This invasion developed 
a strange state of affairs. The Porto Ricans were overjoyed to 
welcome us. Kvery dav there were reports of the authorities of 

51 



» 
._„ ,, ,---1- : : _J 



900 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



of towns in the line of march joyfully surrendering, patriotic 
proclamations issued by the mayors, banquets instead of bullets 
for the officers. This pleasing campaign was ended before any 
serious fighting, which would of course have come near the capital 
at San Juan, by the signing of the preliminary treaty of peace. 
Spain finally accepted the inevitable, and asked through the French 
minister at Washington, M. Cambon, for terms on which peace 
would be granted. These terms included the evacuation of Cuba by 
the Spanish forces, the cession of Porto Rico and an island of the 
Ladrone Group in the Pacific, and temporary surrender of the 
city and Bay of Manilla, pending the final conclusion of peace. 
The protocol was signed August 12, 1898, and thus put an end to 
the war. But before news of this agreement could be communi- 
cated to Admiral Dewey, the city of Manilla had surrendered to 
the American forces. 

Though active hostilities were ended by the signing of the 
protocol, or preliminary treaty of peace, yet a vast amount of 
diplomatic business had still to be arranged before peace could be 
said to be fully restored. According to the terms of the protocol it 
was necessary to provide for the cession of Porto Rico, and many 
questions in regard to the date' and manner of the evacuation of 
the island, the disposition of public property, the rights of Spanish 
residents of the island, must be settled. All these points of dis- 
cussion existed in an intensified degree in the case of Cuba. A 
large army was to be returned to Spain. A vast amount of public 
property was to be turned over to some duly constituted authority. 
The settlement of all these questions incident to these movements 
necessitated the appointment of a commission for each island on 
the part of the American government, to meet in joint session 
with a similar commission appointed by Spain. 

Accordingly, a few days after the signing of the protocol 
President McKinley appointed on such commissions General Wade, 
Admiral Sampson and General Butler for Cuba; and General 
Brooke, Admiral Schley and General Gordon for Porto Rico. 
These commissions repaired to their respective stations early in 
September, and the work at once began of arranging the details 
of the evacuation on the part of Spanish forces. Porto Rico was 
turned over to the control of the American forces, October 18, 
1898. And thus the island of Porto Rico, after being uninterrupt- 



HISTORY OF THE UivlTED STATES. 901 

edly in the possession of Spain for four centuries, found itself an 
integral part of the United States. Its commanding position in 
the Carribbean Sea, its salubrious climate and fertile soil rendered 
it a welcome addition to our domain, and beneath our flag, with 
the blessings of civil and religious liberty, we can but believe a 
future of prosperity and happiness awaits this beautiful island. 

There is in San Juan a small house of ancient style which was 
built by Ponce de Leon. What scenes have its walls witnessed 
since that time! Its master sailed away on his expedition in 
search of the perennial fountain of youth, in which expedition he 
discovered Florida, but lost his own life. Since its walls were 
erected Spain's colonial empire, amongst the most extensive the 
world ever saw, has arisen and fallen, and to the north of the 
peninsula of flowers which its owner discovered has arisen our 
country, the great Republic of the West, which will henceforth 
safeguard the destinies of Porto Rico. 

In Cuba the details to be arranged were so much more exten- 
sive, such a large force of soldiers were to be removed, that the 
evacuation could not be completed before the close of the year. 
And in the case of Cuba the United States government found 
itself confronted with a grave problem: How to deal with the 
insurgents. We had formally renounced any intention of acquir- 
ing the island for our own use, and yet we had not recognized the 
insurgent government. Further, the action of the Cuban troops, 
under command of General Garcia in the Santiago campaign, had 
been very disappointing to the American authorities. It was 
necessary for the United States to take military possession of 
Cuba as the Spanish forces were withdrawn, and establish a tem- 
porar}^ government of law and order, in the belief that soon the 
Cubans — meaning by that term not only the insurgents, but the 
entire population of Cuba — would establish a stable government, 
into whose hands the reins of authority could be placed, in the 
secure conviction that a future of contented prosperitj^ awaits 
them. 

It were fitting to mention one or two incidents that ensued, 
since a pathetic interest attaches to them. The remains of the 
great Columbus — though bearing in mind the historical doubt 
attaching to them, mentioned on a former page of this volume (see 
page 408 et seq.) — which for more than a century had reposed in 



902 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the cathedral at Havana, were borne back to Spain by the depart- 
ing Spanish. When from Spain's enfeebled grasp there fell away 
the last possession in the New World, which their great admiral 
had discovered, it was perhaps in keeping with historic harmony 
that the ashes of the discoverer should be returned to Spain. 
Columbus had returned to Spain in triumph; he had returned 
in chains. His body had rested at Seville, in Santa Christo, in 
Hispaniola. Thence in pomp and ceremony it had been borne to 
Havana, but now as the New World which his daring had given 
to Spain was forever lost to that country, his dust once more 
crossed the Atlantic to find rest in that troubled kingdom. 

Still another incident is of melancholy interest to the his- 
torian. Anxious to secure some trophy of the Spanish fleet de- 
stroyed at Santiago, the American government had after great 
exertions succeeded in raising the Maria Theresa, one of Cervera's 
ill-fated ships. Late in October this vessel started, in tow of the 
tug Merritt, for the Norfolk Navy Yard, where it was intended to 
entirely repair her and add her to our navy. But when off the 
Island of San Salvador a terrific storm broke over her and she 
was cast awa}^ on the treacherous reefs bordering that island. 
That was the -island where Columbus landed on his first vo3^age. 
In 1492 the Spanish admiral with his small fleet on this island first 
set up the banner of Spain. Four centuries passed; that banner 
had floated over a large portion of the New World, but for a hun- 
dred years that colonial empire had been dying; and now a mod- 
ern man-of-war, taken as a trophy by the conquerors in a war to 
end forever the once glorious New World empire of Spain, is cast 
by the elements upon that same island to mark the grave of that 
empire. Thus that small island is a reminder of the mutations 
that await the kingdoms of this world. 

■■ Nations melt 
From power's high pinnacle when they have felt 
The sunshine for a while, and downward go." 

According to the terms of the protocol a joint commission of 
five from each country were to meet in Paris, not later than 
October i, 1898, to negotiate the definitive treaty of peace, which 
was to ratify not onh^ the terms of the protocol, but to settle the 
many questions which could not be touched upon in that agreement, 
and, more important than anything else, determine the disposition 



HISTORY OP THE UNITKD STATES. 903 

of the Philippines. On the part of the United States, the presi- 
dent appointed Secretary of State William R. Day, of Ohio; Sena- 
tor Cushman K. Davis, of Minnesota; Senator William P. Frye, of 
Maine; Senator George Gray, of Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid, 
of New York. This commission met in Paris, and October ist 
commenced its labor in conjunction with the Spanish commission, 
at the head of which was that eminent Spanish statesman and 
diplomat, Senor Montero Rios. 

This was to be a battle of diplomats, and most important 
questions were to be settled. The protocol, or preliminary treaty 
of peace, is of no binding force; it is only a temporary expedient 
for putting an end to hostilities. It is still necessary to negotiate 
a final treaty settling all points in dispute. Should such a final 
agreement fail to be made, hostilities might be renewed. There 
was, however, little danger of such a result in this case, since Spain 
was utterly exhausted. It was impossible for her to resist any 
demands the United States might make. They had, however, a 
lingering hope that should American demands be what they should 
consider excessive, they could induce some other nation to come to 
their assistance. At the termination of many recent wars the 
victorious nation has been compelled b}^ the opposition of other 
nations to accept far less than their original demands. At the 
close of the Russo- Turkish war, the Berlin Congress compelled 
Russia to modify her demands. The opposition of Russia com- 
pelled Japan to relinquish some of her claims on China. Similarly 
at the close of the Greco-Turkish war. The one remaining hope 
of Spain was that the opposition of other !E)uropean powers would 
enable her to compel a modification of the demands of the United 
States. 

The question of responsibility for the debt of Cuba was the 
first serious point to arise in the negotiations. Spain having bor- 
rowed some hundreds of millions of dollars, with Cuba as a 
collateral, was anxious this debt should pass with the island. 
The United States could not consent to this, since the money 
having been largely used to conquer the Cubans, it would present 
the singular spectacle of a people waging a successful war for 
independence, paying all the bills of the vanquished, not only the 
bills for the last and successful war, but for the war of thirty 
years ago. There was considerable talk about the equities of 




SENATOR CUSHMAN K. DAVIS. 

of Minnesota 

SENATOR W. P. FRYE, 

of Maine 



AMERICAN PEACE COMMISSIONERS 
EX. SECT'Y OF STATE. WM. R. DAY 



SENATOR GEORGE GRAY 

of Delaware 

WHITELAW REID. 

of New York 



^ 



^W 



"N 



xJ'[^i 




SPANISH PEACE COMMISSIONERS 

EXCMO SR. D. E. MONTERO RIOS, President 
EXCMO SR. D. WENCESLAO EXCMO SR. GENERAL CERERO 

RANIKEZ DE VILLAURRUTIA 

EXCMO SR. EXCMO SR. D. JOSE GARNICA 

O. BUENAVENTURA ABARZUZA 



9o6 HJ STORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

other people, and about Spain refusing to continue the negotia- 
tions unless the United States assumed the debt, but, as was 
expected, Spain yielded. 

The great struggle came over the disposition of the Philip- 
pines. When the protocol was signed the American authorities 
had not fully decided in their own minds what they wished to do 
with that archipelago. But as time passed several points became 
clear. The islands could not be handed back to Spain. That 
country in her enfeebled state, with her navy destroyed, her credit 
gone, with bankruptcy staring her in the face, was manifestly in 
no condition to attempt the reconquest of the islands from the 
insurgents under Aguinaldo. For the United States to give up 
her grasp on the islands was manifestly to consign them to years 
of anarchy and misrule, and undoubtedly to precipitate a conflict 
between the variou-s European powers for their possession. 

And on further consideration why should the United States 
relinquish them? Had not the rule of Spain been notoriously 
inefficient? Had she not shown there the same cruel, repressive 
action that blighted the prospects of Cuba? With what justice 
could we then restore these islands to the crown of Spain? And 
so the conviction grew that the United States must keep control, 
and hence the demand was finally made that Spain should relin- 
quish the entire archipelago. Vain were the protests of the 
Spanish commissioners, in vain their threats to break off negotia- 
tions; they could only consent to withdraw their authority from 
the Philippines, and so, for the present at least, that archipelago 
becomes a part of our broad domain. The conclusions of the 
commissioners' labors were embodied in a treaty of peace signed 
with due formality by the representatives of the two powers in 
Paris, December lo, 1898. 

On February 6, 1899, ^^^ United States Senate, by a vote of 
57 to 27, ratified the following peace treaty with Spain: 

Spain cedes to the United States Porto Rico and other islands 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies and the Island of 
Guam in the Ladrones. 

Spain cedes to the United States all the archipelago known 
as the Philippine Islands. The United States will pay to Spain 
$20,000,000 within three months after exchange of ratification. 

Spain's ships and merchandise will be admitted to all Philip- 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 907 

pine ports on the same terms as ships and merchandise of the 
United States for ten years. 

The United States will send back to Spain at its own cost 
the Spanish soldiers taken as prisoners of war at Manila, the 
arms of the soldiers to be restored to them. 

Both countries will release all prisoners of war. Both coun- 
tries relinquish all claims for indemnity, national and individual, 
that may have arisen since the beginning of the late insurrection 
in Cuba and prior to exchange of ratification. The United States 
will adjudicate and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain 
in territory relinquished by this article. 

Spain relinquishes in Cuba and cedes in Porto Rico and other 
islands in the West Indies and Guam all buildings and other im- 
movable property which belong to the public domain. 

Spanish subjects remaining in relinquished or ceded territory 
may preserve allegiance to the crown of Spain by making a dec- 
laration of allegiance within a year. Otherwise they shall be 
held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of 
the territory in which they reside. 

Rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired 
by Spaniards in ceded territory shall continue to be respected, 
and Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works shall continue 
to be admitted free of duty for a period of ten years. 

The Government of each country will for a period of ten 
years accord to merchant vessels of the other country the same 
treatment in respect to all port charges as it accords to its own ^ 

merchant vessels. 

Any obligations assumed in the treaty by the United States 
with respect to Cuba are limited to the time of its occupancy, but 
upon the termination of such occupancy it will advise any new 
Government to assume the same obligations. 

Far to the southwest of the Golden Gate, across more than 
twenty-five hundred miles of placid Pacific, basking beneath the 
tropical sun, fanned by the breezes that ceaselessly blow over the 
ocean, is the beautiful group of the Sandwich Islands. They form 
the eastern key to the Pacific, and are directly on the trade routes 
to Australia and the Orient. After some years of anxious waiting, 
1898 saw that group of islands annexed to our country. Going 
west across some three thousand miles of water, we come upon 
the Ladrones, the principal island of which, Guam, is now, as a 
result of this war, a part of our territory. The Philippine archi- 
pelago, however, adjacent to the shores of Asia, guarding the 
western entrance to the Pacific, in area as large as the combined 



s 



^8 HISTORY OF the; UNITED STATES. 

area of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Dela- 
ware, and Virginia, with vast undeveloped resources, which now 
are a part of our domain, form a most important addition. The 
United States is now in condition to become one of the most 
important powers in the Pacific. 

When we reflect on the development of the world's commerce, 
at first confined to the land-locked Mediterranean, of late centuries 
crowding the tumultuous Atlantic, it does not need the gift of 
prophecy to see that the on-coming commerce of the Pacific is 
destined in the near future to dwarf all that has gone before. No 
wonder the older nations of Burope were anxious to take posses- 
sion of that commerce to the exclusion of the United States. But 
our country has now only to take advantage of its fairly won posi- 
tion, to extend wise and beneficent legislation to its new posses- 
sions, to reap an abundant and rich harvest in the near future. 

As we bring these pages to a close, let us reflect on our posi- 
tion. Counting our new possessions, we are a nation of nearly 
one hundred million people. We are entitled to rank among the 
most powerful, cultured and wealthy people of the world. Our 
commerce has orrown to vast extent. The fame of our inventors 
is world-wide. We are in the very front ranks of enlightened, 
progressive nations, keeping pace with the highest culture of the 
world. In contemplating this pleasing picture of national great- 
ness, let us not forget that every crested wave has its correspond- 
ing depression. Let us tremble as well as rejoice, and constantly 
bear in mind the poet's refrain: 

"Lord God of battles, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget! Lest we forget! " 



CHAPTER III. 



THE CLOSE OF THE NINETEENTH AND THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 




YEAR 1899 witnessed the closing acts of the 
Spanish war proper, but in the meantime the 
troops left in the Philippine Islands came in con- 
flict with Aguinaldo's forces, and the friction soon 
lead to the Filipino outbreak. Hostilities were 
opened February 4, when the American lines just 
without Manila were attacked by 20,000 insurgents. 
The attack was repulsed with great loss, and the 
American troops under General Otis then took the 
aggressive. Several fierce engagements resulted, in which 
the Americans were invariably victorious. 
General Lawton and General McArthur were the most promi- 
nent in the campaigns in the interior of Luzon. They drove the 
enemy from town to town, capturing many prisoners. On April 27, 
Colonel Funston of the Twentieth Kansas Regiment, with two 
volunteers as companions, swam the Rio Grande River in the face 
of a murderous fire from the concealed enemy. A rope was carried 
across and by this means the soldiers were enabled to follow on 
rafts. The exploit ranks next to Dewey's victory in Philippine 
war annals. i 

The "embalmed beef" investigation ended at Washington, 
February 6. On the following day the President suspended General 
Kagan from duty for six years for his attack on General Miles 
during the hearing of the beef scandal. 

Dewey was made a full admiral by Congress, March 3. 
Admiral Dewey arrived at New York from the Philippines via 
the Suez Canal, September 26. A great naval demonstration in the 
harbor and an immense parade followed. 

The result of the gubernatorial election in Kentucky, in 1899, 
was long in doubt, and both Republicans and Democrats attempted 
to seize the State government. Excitement was intense, when, on 



(909) 



9IO HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

January 30, William Goebel, the Democratic aspirant, was shot and 
fatally wounded. He died February 3. Governor Taylor, the 
Republican incumbent, was indicted as an accessory to the crime. 
For a time serious trouble was feared, but the courts were allowed 
to settle the claim and civil war was averted. 

Februar}^ 5, the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty was signed, amending 
the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. The chief feature of the old treaty was 
the agreement that any canal joining the Atlantic and Pacific would 
be jointly controlled. America is now free to build and control an 
isthmian canal. 

Three hundred lives were lost and $10,000,000 worth of property 
destroyed in a fire which started in the North German Lloyd piers 
at New York, and communicated with the ocean liners Saale, Bremen 
and Main. 

July 5, Bryan and Stevenson were nominated at the Kansas 
City Convention. 

The frightful West Indian hurricane, which descended upon 
the beautiful, prosperous and progressive, but ill-fated, city of Gal- 
veston, on Saturda}^, September 8, 1900, causing the loss of many 
thousands of lives and the destruction of millions of dollars' worth 
of property, and then ravaged Central and Western Texas, killing 
several hundred people and inflicting damage which cost millions 
to repair, has had no parallel in histor}^ 

When the gale approached the island upon which Galveston is 
situated, it lashed the waves of the Gulf of Mexico into a tremen- 
dous fury, causing them to rise to all but mountain height, and 
then it was that, combining their forces, the wind and water pounced 
upon their prey. 

In the short space of four hours the entire site of the city was 
covered by angry waters, while the gale blew at the rate of one 
hundred miles an hour ; business houses, public buildings, churches, 
residences, charitable institutions, and all other structures gave way 
before the pressure of the wind and the fierce onslaught of the 
raging flood, and those which did not crumble altogether were so 
injured, in the majority of cases, that they were torn down. 

Such a night of horror as the unfortunate inhabitants were 
compelled to pass has fallen to the lot of few since the records of 
history were first opened. In the early evening, when the water first 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 911 

began to invade Galveston Island, the people residing along the 
beach, and near it, fled in fear from their homes and sought the 
highest points in the city as places of refuge, taking nothing but 
the smaller articles in their houses with them. On and on crawled 
the flood, until darkness had set in, and then, as though possessed 
of a fiendish vindictiveness, hastened its speed, and poured over the 
surface of the town, completely submerging it — covering the most 
elevated ground to a depth of five feet and the lower portion ten 
and twelve feet. 

The hurricane was equally malignant, if not more fiendish and 
cruel, and tore great buildings and beautiful homes to pieces with 
evident delight, scattering the debris far and wide; telegraph and 
telephone lines were thrown down, railway tracks and bridges — the 
latter connecting the island and city with the mainland — torn up, 
and the mighty, tangled mass of wires, bricks, sections of roofs, 
sidewalks, fences and other things hurled into the main thoroug- 
fares and cross streets, rendering it impossible for pedestrians to 
make their way along for many days after the waters and gale had 
subsided. 

Forty thousand people — men, women and children — cowered 
in terror for eight long hours, the intense blackness of the night, 
the swishing and lapping of the waves, the demoniac howling and 
shrieking of the wind, and the indescribable and awful crashing, 
tearing and rending, as the houses, hundreds at a time, were wrecked 
and shattered, ever sounding in their ears. Often, too, the friendly 
shelter where families had taken refuge, would be swept away, 
plunging scores and scores of helpless ones into the mad current 
which flowed through every street of the town, and fathers and 
mothers were compelled to undergo the agony of seeing their 
children drown, with no possibility of rescue; husbands lost their 
wives and wives their husbands, and the elements were only 
merciful when they destroyed an entire family at once. 

All during that fearful night of Saturday until the gray and 
gloomy dawn of Sunday broke upon the sorrows-stricken city, the en- 
tire population of Galveston stood face to face with grim death in its 
most horrible shapes ; they could not hope for anything more than 
the vengeance of the hurricane, and as they realized that with every 
passing moment souls were being hurried into eternity, is it at all won- 



912 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

derfiil that, after the strain was over and all danger gone, reason should 
finally be unseated and men and women break into the unmeaning 
ga3^et3^ of the maniac? 

Not one inhabitant of Galveston old enough to realize the situa- 
tion had any idea other than that death was to be the fate of all before 
another day appeared, and when this long and weary suspense, to 
which was added the chill of the night and the growing pangs of hun- 
ger, was at last broken by the first gleams of the light of the Sabbath 
morn, the latter was not entirely welcome, for the face of the sun was 
hidden by morose and ugly clouds, from which dripped, at dreary 
intervals, cold and gusty showers. 

Thousands were swallowed up during the darkness and their 
bodies either mangled and mutilated by the wreckage which had been 
tossed everywhere, left to decompose in the slimy ooze deposited by 
the flood or forced to follow the waves in their sullen retirement to 
the waters of the gulf. 

Dejection and despondency succeeded fright; the majority of 
the business men of the city had suffered such losses that they were 
overcome by apathy ; nearly all the homes of the people were in ruins ; 
the streets were impassable, and the dead lay thickly on every side ; 
all telegraph and telephone wires were down, and as miles and miles 
of railroad track had disappeared and the bridges carried awa3^ there 
was absolutely no means of communication with the outer world 
except by boat. The strange spectacle was then presented of the 
richest city of its size in the richest country in the world lying 
prostrate, helpless and hopeless, a prey to ghouls, vultures, harpies, 
thieves, thugs and outlaws of every sort ; its people starving, and 
the putrid bodies of its dead breeding pestilence. 

The people of that afilicted city were suddenly overwhelmed by 
the almost unprecedented fury of the elements. Thousands were 
killed and injured. Thousands more lost their homes and places of 
business. They were suffering with hunger and menaced with pes- 
tilence. All were brought to a common level by dangers of every 
description, death in its most awful forms, and an outlook of terrible 
uncertainty. 

And yet in the midst of all this ruin and suffering they were 
harassed by thugs and thieves and ghouls in human shape, who 
looted property, assaulted citizens who resisted them, and despoiled 



914 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and disfigured the dead in a shockingly savage manner to secure 
rings and other jewels. Devoid of any feeling of sympathy or pity, 
they seized upon this awful disaster as an opportunity to enrich 
themselves. As soon, however, as the authorities could recover 
from the first shock of the disaster, the city was placed under martial 
law, and the troops patrolling the island did not hesitate to kill every 
one of the vandals caught in the commission of his infamous work. 

Far-off countries sent their offerings ; every city and town in 
the world where Americans live contributed; and crowned heads 
hastened to cable sympathy, together with more substantial evi- 
dences of their kindly feeling. 

Without delay of any kind, instantly and spontaneously, the 
machiner}^ of charity began its work. The people of the North 
might difter radically from the people of the South in many ways, 
but in the presence of such a dreadful visitation of nature, involving 
suffering and death, the brotherhood of man asserted itself and all 
things else were forgotten. Only the higher and nobler attributes 
of human nature assert themselves. 

Private individuals, business houses, great corporations, munic- 
ipal, State and National government vied with each other as they did 
when fire swept over Chicago and the flood overwhelmed Johnstown, 
in expediting relief to the storm-ruined people of Texas. 

Day by day trains sped to Galveston from every part of the 
countr}^, loaded with supplies, and the telegraph wires carried orders 
for mone}', testifying to the unanimity of the great work of relief, 
and to the higher and nobler instincts of human nature when it is 
appealed to by the claims of humanity. 

Galveston's property loss by the hurricane was hardl}^ less than 
$20,000,000 ; outside of that city, in Houston and other points in 
central and southern Texas, together with the agricultural and 
stock-raising districts, th-e property damage was nearly half that 
amount, or in the neighborhood of $10,000,000. 

Probably seventy-five villages and towns were swept by the 
storm, and in most of these places there was loss of life. 

When the hurricane was through with Galveston and central 
and southern Texas it sped north through Missouri, Kansas and 
Nebraska — its path being 300 miles in width — and then turning 
toward the east, or slightly north-east, crossed northern Iowa, south- 



9l6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

erii ^Minnesota, soutliern Wisconsin, southern ^Michigan, northern 
Illinois, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, northern Xew York and 
southern Canada, finally disappearing in the Atlantic ocean, cre- 
ating wreck and havoc wherever it went. It caused great losses of 
life and property in Newfoundland, and destroyed many vessels oj6f 
the eastern coast of the United States. 

The ereat value of the United States Weather Bureau and the 

o 

remarkable correctness of its observations, all things considered, was 
demonstrated by the events preceding and succeeding the West 
Indian hurricane. It gave warning of the hurricane days before it 
manifested itself on the Texas coast. It anticipated its course from 
the vicinit}^ of San Domingo until it reached Cuban waters, where 
it made a deflection no human skill could have foreseen. 

The bureau was not caught napping, however. It sent out its 
hurricane signals both for the Atlantic coast and the gulf coast, and 
when the storm turned from the north of Cuba westward the bureau 
turned its attention to Texas, and on the morning of September 7, 
nearly thirt3-six hours before the disaster, warned the people of 
Galveston of its coming, and during that day extended its signals 
all along the Texas coast, thus preventing vessels from leaving. 

Of course the observers could not know what terrible energy it 
would gain crossing the Gulf of Mexico. 

Perhaps still greater accuracy in forecasting was displayed b}- 
the bureau in the warnings given out to mariners on the great 
lakes on Tuesda}^ morning, September 11. Though nearly all lines 
of communication in Texas were cut off, the bureau kept track of 
the storm as it swept through Oklahoma into Kansas, and gave 
timely warning that it would turn north-east, moving across north- 
ern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, and thence across Lake Mich- 
igan and the northern end of the southern peninsula of Michigan 
to Canada. 

It further predicted the furious winds which prevailed the next 
da}^, their maximum velocit}', the change caused by the north-west 
current from Lake Superior, and the fall of temperature 3^esterday 
to the nicety of a degree. Every vessel captain on the lakes had 
ample warning given him. 

John Sherman, of Ohio, Senator, Secretar}'' of Treasury, and 
Secretary of State, died at Washington, October 21. He was one 
of the Republican leaders for many years. 




ON THE GREAT LAKES. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 919 

November 6 the National election resulted in the re-election of 
President McKinley by a large majority. 

In January, it was announced that the health of the aged Queen 
Victoria was rapidly failing. She died January 22, and the Prince 
of Wales was proclaimed King Edward VII. 

McKinley and Roosevelt were inaugurated March 4. 

Former President Benjamin Harrison died at his Indianapolis 
home, March 13. After his term as President, he resumed the 
practice of law and appeared in some of the most important inter- 
national cases of recent years. 

The rebellion in the Philippines, which had lo^t its effective- 
ness in 1900, received another blow when, on March 23, General 
Funston, with a few companions, captured Aguinaldo. The Amer- 
icans were accompanied by a band of Filipinos. The natives 
announced that they had taken the Americans prisoners and were 
taking them to Aguinaldo. By this ruse his hiding-place was dis- 
covered. Aguinaldo took the oath of allegiance to the United 
States and was given a residence in Manila. 

In industrial circles the most momentous event of the year was 
the incorporation of the billion dollar steel trust b}- J. Pierpont 
Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and others, April i. The consolidation 
of the various interests led to a strike by the Amalgamated Asso- 
ciation of Steel, Iron and Tin Workers, June 30, under the leader- 
ship of Theodore Shaffer, of Pittsburg. The strike was not well 
organized and many of the men refused to obey the orders to walk out. 

President and Mrs. McKinley left Washington on an extended 
tour, April 29. They traveled through the South, along the Mex- 
ican border and through southern California, reaching San Fran- 
cisco May 12. Here Mrs. McKinle}" was taken seriousl}- ill. The 
tour was announced at an end. After a week of rest Mrs. McKinley 
was able to return to W^ashington by easy stages. 

May 28, Cuba voted to accept the Piatt amendment to the 
Constitution. 

During the first few days of Jul}^ an oppressively hot wave 
swept over the country, hundreds dying from the heat. In New 
York the suffering was pathetic. P'ollowing this wave came a 
period of drouth, which extended over the entire country, doing 
inestimable damage to crops. In some districts rain did not fall 



920 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

for two months, and vegetation all perished. Prices of produce rose 
rapidly, but copious rains in August and September saved many of 
the late crops. 

After years of negotiations, the United States and Denmark 
arranged satisfactory terms, September 2, and the Danish West 
Indies, three small islands near Porto Rico, will be transferred to 
this countr}'. The chief object in acquiring these islands was to 
get possession of the port of St. Thomas, one of the best in the 
West Indies. The islands are St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. 
The price paid is a little over $4,000,000. 

On Friday, September 6, 1901, the American people were 
shocked and stunned b}^ the news that their beloved President, 
William AIcKinley, while attending the Pan-American Exposition 
at Buffalo, had been shot down by a cowardl}^ assassin. 

It was like a flash of lightning from a clear sk3\ The people 
were stunned into momentary silence. The sign of grief was on 
the face of ever}^ loyal American, and the hearts of the people beat 
as one in S3mipath3' for the stricken chief. 

The horror of the tragic event grew, when it was learned that 
the assassin was an anarchist, and not an insane man as was first 
supposed. 

Then came the full realization that the murderous bullet of the 
assassin was aimed not onh' at the foremost citizen of the Republic, 
but that Anarchy had raised its blood-stained hand against govern- 
ment, against all peaceable authority and law. It was a blow struck 
at all the institutions of society that men hold dear and sacred. 

With that wonderful self-control that distinguishes the Ameri- 
can people, loyal citizens restrained the rising passion in their 
breasts, and their suppressed rage was further held in check b}^ the 
word of hope which followed that the President was 3'et alive. 

The scene of the assassination was the Temple of Music, at the 
Bxposition grounds. The da3' previous was President's da3' at the 
Exposition, and President AIcKinle3' had delivered what man3^ 
believed to be the greatest speech of his life. Praises for his wisdom 
and statesmanship were ringing around the world. 

On the fateful day the President attended the Exposition as a 
visitor, and in the afternoon held a reception in the Temple of 
Music. 




ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MeKINLEY. 



922 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The reception to the President was one to which the general 
public had been invited. President John G. jMilburn of the Expo- 
tion had introduced the President to the great crowd in the Temple, 
and men, women and children came forward for a personal greeting. 

Among those in line was Leon Czolgosz, whose right hand 
was wrapped in a handkerchief. Folded in the handkerchief was a 
32-caliber self-acting revolver holding five bullets. 

A little girl was led, up by her father and the President shook 
hands with her. As she passed along to the right the President 
looked after her smilingly, and waved his hand in a pleasant adieu. 

Next in line came a boyish-featured man about 26 3"ears old, 
preceded by a short Italian who leaned backward against the bandaged 
hand of his follower. The of&cers, who attended the President, 
noted this man, their attention being first attracted by the Italian, 
whose dark, shaggy brows and black mustache caused the professional 
protectors to regard him with suspicion. 

The man with the bandao-ed hand and innocent face received no 

o 

attention from the detectives beyond the mental observation that 
his right hand was apparent!}^ injured, and that he would present 
his left hand to the President. 

The Italian stood before the palm bower. He held the Presi- 
dent's hand so long that the officers stepped forward to break the 
clasp, and make room for the man with the bandaged hand, who 
extended the left hand towards the President's right. 

The President smiled and presented his right in a position to 
meet the left of the approaching man. Hardly had a foot of space 
intervened between the bodies of the two men, before their hands 
met, two pistol shots rang out, and the President turned slightly to 
the left and reeled. 

The bandage on the hand of the tall, innocent looking man 
had concealed a revolver. He had fired through the bandage with- 
out removing any portion of the handkerchief. 

On receiving the first shot President McKinley lifted himself 
on his toes with something of a gasp. His movement caused the 
second shot to enter just below the navel. With the second shot 
the President doubled slightly forward and then sank back. Secret 
Service Detective Gear}^ caught the President in his arms and 
President ]Milburn helped to support him. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 923 

When the President fell into the arms of Detective Geary he 
cooly asked : " Am I shot ? " 

Gear}^ unbuttoned the President's vest, and, seeing blood, 
replied : " I fear you are, Mr. President." 

It had all happened in an instant. Almost before the- noise of 
the second shot sounded, a negro waiter, James F. Parker, leaped 
upon the assassin, striking him a terrific blow and crushing him to 
the floor. Soldiers of the United States artillery detailed at the 
reception sprang upon them, and he was surrounded by a squad of 
exposition police and secret service detectives. Detective Gallagher 
seized Czolgosz's hand, tore away the handkerchief and took the 
revolver. 

The artiller3'men, seeing the revolver in Gallagher's hand, 
rushed at the assassin and handled him rather roughly. Meanwhile, 
Detective Ireland and the negro held the assassin, endeavoring to 
shield him from the attacks of the infuriated artillerymen and the 
blows of the policemen's clubs. 

Supported by Detective Geary and President of the Exposition, 
Milburn, and surrounded by Secretary George B. Cortelyou and 
half a dozen Exposition officials, the President was assisted to a 
chair. His face was white, but he made no outcry. 

When the second shot struck the President he sank with one 
hand holding his abdomen, the other fumbling at his breast. His 
eyes were open and he was clearly conscious of all that had trans- 
pired. He looked up into President jMilburn's face and gasped : 
" Cortelyou," the name of his private secretar}-. The President's 
secretary bent over him. " Cortel3'ou," said the President, " my 
wife, be careful about her; don't let her know." 

Moved by a paroxysm he writhed to the left and then his eyes 
fell on the prostrate form of the assassin, Czolgosz, l3ang on the 
floor bloody and helpless beneath the blows of the guard. 

The President raised his right hand, red with his own blood, 
and placed it on the shoulder of his secretar3\ "Let no one 
hurt him," he gasped, and then sank back into the chair, while 
the guards carried Czolgosz out of his sight. 

The ambulance from the exposition hopital was summoned 
immediately, and the President, still conscious, sank upon the 
stretcher. Secretary Cortelyou and Mr. Milburn rode with him 



924 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

in the ambulance, and in nine minutes after the shooting the 
President was awaiting the arrival of surgeons, who had been 
summoned from all sections of the city. 

The President continued conscious and conversed with Mr. 
Cortelyou and Mr. Milburn on his way to the hospital. "I am 
sorry," he said, *'to have been the cause of trouble to the Exposi- 
tion." 

Three thoughts had found expression with the President — first, 
that the news should be kept from his wife ; second, that the would-be 
assassin should not be harmed ; and, third, regret that the tragedy 
might hurt the Exposition. 

The surgeons informed the President that an operation was 
necessary. 

*' All right," replied the President. "Go ahead. Do whatever 
is proper." 

The anesthetic administered was ether, and for two and a half 
hours the President was under the influence of this. 

The wound in the breast proved to be only a flesh wound. The 
bullet struck a button and was somewhat deflected. It entered the 
middle of the breast above the breast-bone, but did not penetrate 
far. When the President was undressed for the operation the bullet 
fell from his clothing upon the table. 

The second and serious wound was a bullet hole in the abdo- 
men, about five inches below the left nipple and an inch and a half 
to the left of the median line. The bullet which caused that wound 
penetrated both the interior and posterior walls of the stomach, 
going completely through that organ. 

After McKinley had recovered sufficiently to talk, which was on 
the third day, he would ask regarding the condition of Mrs. McKinley. 
The assurance that she was bearing up bravely seemed to act bene- 
ficiall}^ on the President. 

Mrs. McKinley was permitted to see her husband daily, but only 
for a few minutes at a time. As was his wont in former days to 
cheer his invalid wife, so it was a pleasure for her to show a recip- 
rocal spirit, which she did. The daily meetings were those of true 
lovers, and every eye in the sick-room would be wet ere the parting 
kiss of the day would be given. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 925 

These visits, at a«ll times brief, were still a source of deep satis- 
faction to the stricken President. The outcome of the struggle 
vitally interested IMcKinley, more because of the effect his death 
would have on his wife and on the Nation than for personal reasons. 

A man of sterling Christian character, pious and devout, he did 
not fear death. The end had no terrors for him, but he felt it 
would leave a void, a vacancy, which none other could fill. The 
invalid who for 30 years had relied on him alone as her support and 
protector, her aid and comfort, still needed him. It was parting 
from her that made him feel reluctant to lay down his life's work. 

Cares of state engrossed little of his attention during that week 
spent in the Milburn residence. He had builded well, and the ded- 
ication, as it were, of his noble edifice of National policy, in which 
all culminated, was in the memorable speech of the day preceding 
the fateful Frida}'. Several times during his last days he smiled 
upon being complimented for that truly great oration, but he did 
not live to learn how thoroughl}^ it was appreciated throughout the 
length and breadth of the land. 

Wm. McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States, 
died at fifteen minutes past two o'clock on the morning of Saturday, 
September 14, 1901, at the age of fifty-eight years. He had lived 
just six and a half da3'S after receiving his wound at the hands of 
Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist. 

From the time President McKinley was carried to the bed in 
the Milburn home, at Buffalo, there had been a continually rising 
barometer of hope. Frightful as had been the shock of his wound, 
serious as were the consequences in a bullet necessarily retained in 
his body, the great reserves of courage and of strength had come 
to the President's rescue, and he had seemed to mend from the 
start. As the days passed, following the assault, the whole nation 
emerged from that black pall of gloom which fell in the hour when 
men first whispered : " The President is shot ! " Usual vocations 
were taken up again. Social activities were renewed. The people 
in general, scarcely pausing from the pressure of a necessary labor 
caught the note of encouragement, and were happy as they worked. 
Apprehension almost faded away as the days of the week followed 
each other, and every succeeding bulletin painted but brighter the 
scene in the sick room. By Wednesday, the millions of Americans 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 927 

who were watching with eyes of love at that bedside — however near 
or remote they might be — had quite dismissed the thought of a 
fatal ending to the President's case. The}- accepted his speed}/ 
recovery as a fact to be shared with jubilation, and had forgotten 
the grip of dismay and fear which seized them when the first news 
came. 

And out of this rising glow of happiness came, late Thursday' 
night, another shock — the bitterer for the hope which had preceded 
it. 

*' The President is vrorse." That was the message men whis- 
pered to each other. After bulletins which exhausted the possi- 
bilit}^ of variety in statement, came one which chilled the warm 
heart of the Nation, and frightened far away the hope which had 
seemed so certain. The Thursday morning statement of ph^'sicians 
and secretary reported all that could be argued from the sanguine 
statements of preceding days. 

At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a note of distress 
in the reporting. The countr}^ had alread}^ been apprised, through 
the watchful press, of such '' hurr3angs to and fro " as presaged a 
return of peril, and of fear. There were drawn, white faces at the 
windows of the jMilburn house. The calm of preceding days was 
disturbed. Messengers were sent flying to various destinations. 
Carriages and automobiles rolled up or rolled away in a haste which 
could mean but burning anxiety. And in the evening hours came 
that carefully considered bulletin which was the more portentous 
for the very vagueness of its terms. 

Little by little the people learned. Earl}^ on Thursday there 
were signs of pain. There were alarming developments. The phy- 
sicians, carefully scanning every evidence, breathlessly watching 
their patient's every moment, learned that a relapse had come. 
They battled against it. They called up all the known agencies 
for assisting nature in opposing the grim enemy that threatened. 

But the President was sinking. That was the truth about it. 

All through Thursda}- night, all through Friday that battling 
for life went on, the patient, brave and uncomplaining victim of a 
reasonless shot, was subjecting himself utterl}' to the control of the 
medical men. And they were exhausting the possibilities of 
medicine and of surger}-. The}- were doing all that men could 



928 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

do. They were rendering such service as kings can not command. 
But the baffling difficulty continued. They could not understand. 

Down through the body, hidden from their eyes, ran the channel 
which a murderous ^bullet had plowed. And in every inch of its 
course the fatal gangrene had settled. Death was at his feast in 
the President's body ! 

Nothing could check that devastation. Nothing could spur the 
heart to combat longer. Nothing could restore those pulses to 
normal beating. 

The President was dying ! 

Ail through the early hours of Friday night it was known he 
could not live to another sunrise. Friends, relatives, Cabinet officers, 
the Vice-President — all were summoned ; and they were hastening 
to the bedside in the hush of an awful sorrow. 

It was past midday when he had entered upon his final struggle. 
The thousands gathered at the Pan-American Exposition, the Nation 
and the outside world were not prepared even then for a realization 
that the worst w^as at hand. 

Within, the wife had paid her last tribute to her dying sweet 
heart of thirty years. Dr. Rixey led her into the room, and as she 
laid her head alongside his she sobbed : 
"I cannot let him go." 

She knew that the President v/as dying then, and in the dim 
silence of her adjoining room she waited and wept as the hours sped 
and the doctors wondered at the mighty battle of the dying man. 

]\Iidnight, i and 2 o'clock, found him wavering on the verge, 
and the men of science could but stand and marvel at the wondrous 
but hopeless fight which he had maintained so long. Intervals of 
apparent consciousness came upon him. Sonietimes he opened his 
fading eyes and gazed calmly around. 

At 3 o'clock the dim, gray light began to fall across his 
shrunken face, and then — death won ! 

He had been unconscious, the doctors said, for nearly six hours. 
During all this time he had been gradually sinking. For the last 
half hour he had been in such condition that it was difficult to tell 
when he breathed. 

His last conscious words were as follows : 




MRS. IlIcKINI^BY. 



930 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



"Good-by, all; good-by. It is God's wa}'. His will be done, 
not ours." 

The bravery of Mrs. AIcKinley in this last moment was only 
paralleled by the heroism with which the President himself, mur- 
muring the words of "Nearer, My God, to Thee," turned his face 
away from all so dear to him in life, and passed into the last and 
eternal sleep. 

The}^ did not know, but his physicians were helpless from the 
start. The demon who had struck so surely might well make 
mocker}" of them. Six days of pain, six da\'s of agony, six da3'S 
of hovering at the slippery brink of death — and on the seventh he 
was at rest. 

. The great heart of the President was still forever. The man 
who had confessed his God in childhood bade farewell to earth with 
the words: "Thy will be done!" The man who had helped his 
parents and his brothers and his sisters, who had periled his life 
freely in the defense of his country, who had made an honorable 
name and given the blessing of a husband's love to one good woman, 
the man who had never harmed a human being purposely, who had 
lived at peace with God and man almost for three-score years, had 
drifted across the bar. His heart had throbbed lightly, and was still. 
The varying pulse had ceased, and the calm eyes that had fronted 
life and death and destiny without ever flinching — this Man was 
dead. The head of a nation, the chief executive of eighty millions 
of people, the statesman who had guided his country so wisel}- and 
so well, had been thrust from earth by an assassin who had no cause 
of complaint, who had no wrongs to avenge, no advantage to secure, 
no benefit to hope. 

From the scene of President McKinley's assassination to the 
Capital of the Nation the hearse of the murdered President made 
its way. Through almost half a thousand miles, past a hundred 
towns that had been blessed through his services, between two lines 
of mourners that massed in unnumbered throngs all the way from 
Buffalo to Washington, the hurr3'ing train proceeded, anguished 
mourners within the cars, loving and sorrow-stricken friends with- 
out. 

President IMcKinley had left Washington, September 6, 1901, 
in the full tide of life, in the full flush of hope and power. His 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 93 1 

cold body, with life extinct started on the return, ]\Ionda3', Septem- 
ber 16, housed in the mournful trappings of woe. 

Never was such a funeral procession. Never before was a death 
so causeless, a chief so beloved so pitilessly laid low, and never 
was humanity startled from universal peace with a grief so sad. 

Night enveloped the Capital City in its mighty pall as the 
funeral procession ended. 

Throughout -the day workmen had been bus}- placing the great 
east room at the White House in condition for the reception of the 
body of the dead President. That immense room, in which President 
McKinle}^ had participated in so many public functions, and had 
taken the hands of thousands of his countrymen, was transformed 
into a tomb for the time being, and all evidences of past festivities 
were removed. 

It was in this same room that the remains of Lincoln, Garfield, 
Secretary of State Gresham, and other distinguished public servants 
rested before final interment. 

At 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, September 17, 1901, the funeral 
cortege started from the White House toward the Capitol. 

As soon as the funeral service in the Capitol had concluded, 
and the audience had dispersed, the guards took their places about 
the casket, and the big bronze doors of the Capitol were thrown 
open, and the crowds were admitted. 

When the people had had an opportunity to view the remains 
of their beloved President, the body was taken to the depot, and 
between 8 and 9 o'clock in the evening the funeral train departed 
for Canton. 

The funeral train bearing the remains of President AIcKinley 
crossed the west line of Pennsylvania and entered his home State 
and his home Congressional district at 10 o'clock a. m., and arrived 
at Canton at noon, Wednesday, September 18, 1901. 

This is the district he represented for fourteen yeaie in the halls 
of Congress. Many who had known the President personally, who 
had shaken his hand and gazed into his genial face, lined the tracks 
to do honor to all that remained on earth of their neighbor, friend 
and chief. From the State line to Canton, the President's home, 
the line of mourners was almost continuous. Althoug-h a stirrino- 

o o 

depth of feeling had been manifested as the train passed through 




Mckinley, wife and mother. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 933 

other States of the Union with its burden, nowhere was poignant 
grief so evident as it was during the sad journey through the Pres- 
ident's home State. 

It is the second time the State of Ohio has been called upon to 
pay homage to the ashes of one of its sons, elevated to the presidency 
and then stricken by an assassin's bullet in the prime of his career. 

The funeral services began at 1:30 p. m. at the First Methodist 
Bpiscopal Church, of which the martyred President was a communi- 
cant and trustee. They were brief, by the expressed wish of the 
family. 

The funeral car reached the cemetery gates at 4 o'clock. From 
the hilltop the President's salute of twenty-one guns, fired at inter- 
vals of one minute, announced its coming. The military guards 
came to a "present" with a snap as the funeral car approached for 
the last scene in the life and death of William McKinley — a scene 
beautiful and impressive as his life had been. 

Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at 
3:32 o'clock Saturday afternoon, September 14, 1901. The oath of 
office was administered b}^ Judge John R. Hazel, of the United 
States District Court, in the library of the residence of ]\Ir. Ansley 
Wilcox, at Buffalo. Mr. Wilcox was an old friend of the Vice-Pres- 
ident, and the latter had made Mr. Wilcox's house his home during 
his stay in Buffalo, after the shooting of the President. 

The delay in taking the oath after the death of the President 
was the result of the sanguine feeling among the people that Pres- 
ident McKinley would recover from his wounds. No one shared 
this feeling in a higher degree than the Vice-President. When 
the news that the President had been shot became public, Vice- 
President Roosevelt was in the Hast. He started immediately for 
Buffalo, and was at the President's bedside as soon as possible. He 
remained in Buffalo until the physicians announced that there was 
no fear of the President's death, and then left for the Adirondacks. 

When the President began to sink Thursda}' night, messages 
were sent to the Vice-President and those members of the Cabinet 
who, like himself, had left Buffalo, deluded into the belief that the 
President would soon be able to return to the Capital. The Vice- 
President, with his usual promptitude, started on the return trip to 
Buffalo, greatly saddened by the news which made such a step 
I necessary. He made a hard night ride from the North Woods to 



"-'^s!; 



oiir 



Jhc has 6ic6 

a lUTllK. 

honorable 
cScalh. Qu6; 
his luorh 
null 
not be 
forqottcn. 



Che nation 

for mhich 

he inorhe6 

an^ 

liuciS 

he Icaucs 

poincrful 

\mb prosperous" 



>v3«2&d' 



, Wiinam^l'ilfifiley: 

SblPiUtam JIt?Ofinlct| was intrusted the 
care of a nation, circat. powerful, sclf-[; 
^sufficient free from dampers and from • 
turmoit M\s 6utij toas to ^uidc the / 
Kgreat machine carefudn, cautiousli^, ano\ 
^accor6ing to the unit oflhe people, * 

/ "/r' .^^ It i$6oif$A\)ay, 

im ^^few^l ' i ^^^^ ^'^" ^^ done, 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 935 

Albany, and by the use of a special train reached Buffalo at 1:35 
o'clock Saturda}^ afternoon. 

To avoid the crowd which had gathered at the Union Station 
to see him, the Vice-President alighted at the Terrace Station of 
the New York Central, where a police and military escort awaited 
him. He insisted first of all on visiting Mrs. McKinley, and offer- 
ing condolences to her in her hour of anguish. This step he desired 
to take simply as a private citizen, and when it was accomplished 
the Vice-President announced himself as ready to take the oath as 
President. A strong escort of military and police had assembled 
at the ]\Iilburn house to escort him to Mr. Wilcox's, but its presence 
annoyed the Vice-President, and he halted the guards with a quick, 
imperative military command, saying he would have only two 
policemen to go along with him. Later he announced that he did 
not w^ant to establish the precedent of going about guarded. 

The place selected for the administration of the oath was the 
library of Air. Wilcox's house, a rather small room, but picturesque, 
the heavy oak trimmings and the massive bookcases giving it some- 
what the appearance of a legal den. A pretty bay window with 
stained glass and heavy hangings formed a background, and against 
this Colonel Roosevelt took his position. 

Judge Hazel stood near him in the bay window, and Colonel 
Roosevelt showed his almost extreme nervousness by plucking at 
the lapel of his long frock coat, and nervousl}^ tapping the hard- 
wood floor with his heel. 

He stepped over once to Secretary Root, and for about five 
minutes they conversed earnestl3^ The question at issue was 
whether the President should first sign an oath of office and then 
swear in, or whether he should swear in first and sign the document 
in the case after. 

Secretary Root ceased his conversation with Colonel Roosevelt, 
and, stepping back, while an absolute hush fell upon every one in 
the room, said, in an almost inaudible voice : 

" Mr. Vice-President, I " Then his voice faltered, and for 

fully two minutes the tears came down his face, and his lips quivered, 
so that he could not continue his utterences. There were sympa- 
thetic tears from those about him, and two great drops ran down 
either cheek of the successor of William McKinlev. 



936* HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mr. Root's chin was on his breast. Suddenly throwing back 
his head as if with an effort, he continued in broken voice : 

" I have been requested, on behalf of the Cabinet of the late 
President, at least those who are present in Buffalo, all except two, 
to request that for reasons of weight affecting the affairs of govern- 
ment, you should proceed to take the constitutional oath of President 
of the United States." 

Colonel Roosevelt stepped farther into the bay window, and 
Judge Hazel, taking up the constitutional oath of office, which had 
been prepared on parchment, asked him to raise his right hand and 
repeat it after him. There was a hush like death in the room as 
the Judge read a few words at a time, and Colonel Roosevelt, in a 
strong voice and without a tremor, and with his raised hand steady, 
repeated it after him. 

" And thus I swear," he ended it. The hand dropped by the 
side, the chin for an instant rested on the breast, and the silence 
remained unbroken for a couple of minutes as though the new 
President of the United States w^ere offering pra3^er. Judge Hazel 
broke it, sa3'ing : 

"Air. President, please attach your signature," and the Presi- 
dent, turning to a small table near b}^, wrote "Theodore Roosevelt" 
at the bottom of the document in a firm hand. 

The new President was visibly shaken, but he controlled him- 
self admirably, and with the deep solemnity of the occasion full upon 
him, he announced to those present that his aim would be to be 
William ^NIcKinley's successor in deed as well as in name. Delib- 
eratety he proclaimed it in these words: 

" In this hour of deep and terrible bereavement I wish to state 
that it shall be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy 
of President ]\IcKinley for the peace and prosperity and honor of 
our beloved country." 

Theodore Roosevelt was born October 20, 1858, at No. 28 East 
Twentieth street, New York City. His father, also Theodore Roose- 
velt, was a member of an old New York Dutch family, and Mr. 
Roosevelt is of the eighth generation of the stock in the United States. 
Mingled with the Dutch in Theodore Roosevelt's veins are strains of 
EuQ-lish. Celtic, and French. His mother was Miss ]\Iartha Bullock, 
and came of a distinguished Georgia family, which had given to 

that State a Governor, Archibald Bullock, in revolutionary times. 
/ 

=:' Some of these pages are used in " The Library of History," hence the irregular folios. This book 
contains 240 pages. 



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